How to Train Your Dragon: The Second Night Fury
by Dustnblood
Summary: Ukiah was a lone, teen hunter who lived in a secluded forest that no one bothered to go. He's seen all kinds of animals and creatures, including dragons. However, on a stormy night, Ukiah sees a Night Fury. Dreaming of getting rich and living with glory the rest of his days, he goes out to hunt it. Little did he know that chasing the dragon would change his life forever. Rated T
1. Chapter 1

I re-edited this chapter to make it easier to read. Even I had a hard time with it. I also made minor checkups with spelling, grammar, etc. Here you go!

How to Train Your Dragon:

The Second Night Fury

**Chapter 1**

CRACK! The thunder roared once again. The wind and the rain could barely be heard over the creaking and the straining of the ship as it moved against the waves beating on all the sides.

Hiccup was wondering why in the world he was on this ship! Sure it sounded fun as first but after the first half day, he already was sea-sick and dreading the fact that he still had a month left on the water.

BOOM! Another sound of thunder, slightly startling Hiccup.

Sighing, he muttered to himself, "Well at least we haven't drowned…mostly."

Honestly the storm wasn't all that bad, it was more so just a threatening one that sounded worse than it really was.

Looking over his hammock, Hiccup saw his dad sleeping in an oversized hammock that Hiccup himself could potentially get lost in.

His dad, Stoick the Vast, was the chieftain of his tribe on the island of Berk.

The entire reason for even taking this god's forsaken trip was to establish a trade route with another tribe. The village of Thariin, whose chief was called Strogg the Stone.

Thariin was a very prosperous village; being on the shore of the mainland, it became a hub for all traders from around the sea and beyond!

With the peace between the dragons and the Vikings, Berk began to be very prosperous with herds and crops. Stoick decided that it was time to establish a trade route with the prominent village, eventually establishing trade routes with all the other villages that they could.

And now, Thariin was a week away, and with this stormy weather pushing the ship, it will probably be a little less than that.

Trying to rest and force sleep to come, he started to think of home and his friends, and not the business trip. This only made matters worse.

He started to think of Toothless, his dragon who he befriended, who was the cause for all the happiness that was in his life at that point. Without Toothless, he was nothing and had nothing. He and Toothless had been heroes for both of their worlds.

Together they ended up killing the Green Death Dragon, which almost killed both of them in the end. Hiccup and Toothless were known as heroes after that act and would probably be recognized that for the rest of their lives.

Oh how he loved Toothless, because he was the reason why he had a father who cared about him now, friends who would do anything for him, and a special person in his life who was always spending time with him, flying with him, and then spending more time with him. Astrid.

Wow…just the thought of her swept him off his feet! Which was good that he already lying in a hammock and off his feet.

She was permitted to come on the trip with Hiccup and Stoick, well more so forced everyone to let her come. She more or less persuaded her parents to let her go see another island and learn about its' skills and warriors.

"More like she wanted to be with me!" thought Hiccup a little smugly. He crossed his legs and put his hands behind his head relishing in this truth, which ended up throwing him off balance and tossing him off of his hammock onto the wet floor of the ship.

"Great…" Hiccup thought as he scrambled up to get off the soaking wood. He looked around and was relieved that no one woke up when he fell. "Sitting here isn't really helping me fall asleep, maybe a quick walk up on deck will help." He muttered gloomily to himself.

Stepping outside of the cabin of the ship, he began to walk around the deck, or stagger around with the deck with the waves.

The actual walking on the deck surprised him because it was a lot easier than he had predicted. The air and the water were nice and refreshing, but he was still lonely.

Unfortunately, Astrid was asleep and Toothless couldn't come.

Stoick didn't want Toothless scaring the other tribe and this agreement needed to go as smoothly as possible for Stoick. Plus, other Viking tribes weren't so ready to accept the dragons as pets and might take lethal action towards Toothless.

So Hiccup had no choice but to leave Toothless, which almost broke his heart seeing Toothless devastated when he learned he couldn't come.

He hated that he had disappointed Toothless, and he also hated that he couldn't fly to get off the ship that seemed to be shrinking in size due to the time spent on it.

In fact, he hated that he couldn't fly at all! He was almost worried that he would be rusty when he got back. Two months gone can have a greater effect on skills than people realize.

"Hmm, I guess that's why Astrid brought her axe. Of course every Viking would bring his or her weapon no matter where they go." He thought.

As he finished getting soaked by a few waves of seawater and breathing the salty air, he decided that he'd better go back and continue to try and get some sleep. His thoughts were heavily on Toothless.

In fact, he could almost hear the screaming that a Night Fury makes when diving or flying at an incomprehensible speed. The sound seemed to get louder in his head as he was walking into the cabin.

He stopped to actually listen to what he thought he was hearing in his head, and then began to look up at the black, starless sky. It wasn't in his head; it truly was the sound of a Night Fury! Hiccup ran to the side of the ship and stared where he thought the sound was coming from.

Just as he did, a black streak dashed across the horizon not very high and not very far!

"It can't be…" Hiccup gasped.

His head was spinning from the sudden turn of events, and then he ran inside to get his dad.

* * *

A week's journey away in the land of Thariin, the thunder also rolled in the black sky and over the dark, infinite waves of the sea. Only from the lightning could you tell that you were in a cave looking out of a cliff.

Ukiah was all but tired, with the amazingly powerful storm just outside his humble cave.

Ukiah was 17 years old with midnight black hair cut short enough for people to know that he has hair but almost looked bald at a distance. His slender build was enough to show that he was strong, just not big.

CRACK! Ukiah always loved storms, especially at night. For two reasons though; He loved the sight of the unlimited power from the sky attacking the unconquerable sea, and secondly, a storm usually meant a good hunt the following day.

The thought of the hunt tomorrow made Ukiah laugh inside! He had meant to take it easy tomorrow, maybe even sleep in.

With food stocked up to last him awhile and a load of pelts, furs, leather, even some jerky ready to be traded, he planned on taking a "vacation" from hunting and fishing and prepare to pack for the trip to Thariin, 20 miles south.

However, this storm would give him a chance to get some more pelts to sell for money instead of trading for tools and other needed equipment to live in the forest.

He could potentially get a new quiver for his arrows as he looked over at his torn, almost destroyed with use, homemade quiver. Maybe even a new spear!

He guessed that he still had 4 hours before he would set out for the hunt.

BOOM! Ukiah rolled over from where he was laying and lit a small candle to his side. As the candle took flame, his collections of weapons appeared almost magically from the darkness; a steel dagger, his three double-spears, and crossbow.

He unsheathed the dagger and looked at it through the candle light. The flame of the candle of seemed to dance on the dagger's sharpened blade. Sheathing the dagger, he picked up one of the three spears and moved his hand up and down the handle.

The smoothness of the wood caused his hand almost glide over it until he rubbed the tightly bound leather around the middle. The two metal tips on each end were so perfectly crafted, that they balanced the weapon so well he could hold it with his pinky. With a grand total length of three feet, these were the perfect throwing spears.

He set the spear down and picked up his most prized weapon and possession; His crossbow. Already notched and ready to take the life of the next prey, or predator, it was a weapon that could always be depended on.

"Sleep well…" he muttered, "We're going to be busy tomorrow". As he finished saying those words, he realized that he was the one that was going to need the sleep more than the crossbow.

Carefully placing the crossbow back to its resting spot and blowing out the small candle he had lit, he leaned against the wall he was resting on.

He looked out into the vast darkness broken up by the lightning spontaneously striking at the water. He studied the rock pinnacles that stood out of the water in open defiance against the merciless waves.

He stared off at them until sleep started to overcome him. Forced trained, he kept one eye open, almost lifelessly scanning the opening and horizon. Had he not done this, he would have missed an object that silently, yet quickly, landed on one of the pinnacles facing the mouth of his cave.

Surprised by the unexpected visitor, he silently sat up and squinted at the peak of the rock.

Whatever it was that landed there, it almost turned invisible! It blended so well with the back ground and actual rock, that Ukiah with his hunter trained eye, was struggling to make out anything at all!

He knew just by the size of what he did see, was that it was a dragon! Yet he couldn't tell what kind! It definitely wasn't a Hideous Zippleback, he didn't see two heads. Couldn't of been a Monstrous Nightmare, they hate rain due to the fact that they can't light themselves on fire, besides that, it wasn't that big. It was most definitely not a Gronckle, wasn't round enough and he actually saw the wings.

"What was that?" Ukiah whispered to himself knowing that no one was around to really answer. "I guess it could have been a Deadly Nadder, the size was about right. Also the wing span looked like it as well." However, one thing bugged him. He didn't see the two legs stick out. It almost looked like a sleek…arrow. "I wonder what it is" Ukiah whispered.

All thoughts of hunting and sleeping were gone now. "Whatever landed on that pinnacle, it is still there and is probably looking at me!" He thought.

Slowly drawing his crossbow to him, he brandished his weapon to be ready for anything that might come in.

Suddenly lightning flashed and what Ukiah saw horrified him so bad that he almost screamed! It was a black and dreaded dragon that no one ever wanted to see, or lived to see, a Night Fury.

Ukiah's blood froze inside of him! He had only heard of the Night Fury, a terror and a supposed representative of death itself!

He had heard of the defeat of the Green Death Dragon by a Night Fury and a great Viking warrior, named Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III that rode on the back of it.

But to actually see one in the flesh was a sight! It was sleek, almost stealthy like, which Ukiah understood to be the key to any successful hunt. It just looked deadly.

Then he saw the silhouette of the Night Fury spread its wings to take off and fly.

Quietly, but as quickly as was possible, he ran to the entrance of the cave and looked to where it could have gone. He judged that it flew right into the woods behind his cave.

In all of his hunts, he never really set out for a dragon. "Let the dragon slayers do that." He always told himself whenever he saw a dragon in Fallis Woods.

But this time, a rare Night Fury was in the woods that Ukiah knew better than most animals that lived in it!

"If I can take it down, I could be a hero just like Hiccup…" Thought Ukiah excitedly! "Maybe get a reward for killing it! Man what am I doing here; I've got to get going before it goes too far!"

Ukiah didn't really go on night hunts very often, but there were a few exceptions such as this.

He went back to the cave and lit his small candle again.

Grabbing his gear he had all situated, he started to put on his leather hunting vest which had definitely seen better days. He started wrapping his forearms with the same leather that his vest was made out of, just a really long strip for each arm.

After securing the gauntlet like wrappings, he strapped his dagger, pointing up, to his arm. Making sure that the dagger itself was secure and wouldn't fall out, he moved onto the spears.

His vest had special holes attached to the back which his spears fit smoothly inside! He reached for his quiver of arrows which he strapped to his leg tightly.

Before grabbing his crossbow, he stuck his hand in a bucket of water and then into the fire pit, rubbing the ash on his face at a diagonal from high left to low right. It was a traditional war paint style that his guardian had taught him before he went out to hunt. He had always done this regardless of what he was hunting.

Grabbing and not needing to check his crossbow, he blew out what was left of the candle and made his way through the dark forest in the middle of a storm.


	2. Chapter 2

So I forgot to mention, the first two to three chapters may drag a little bit, but then it will start warming up after that. Sorry for the belated warning!

And just in case you didn't notice, I re-edited the format for chapter 1. Just in case reading it made you head spin like it did to mine. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

About three hours into the hunt, the storm was starting to recede a little bit. It was still raining, but at least the wind had died, the lightning and thunder. Signs of the sun rising were starting appear as well.

He would pause every few steps to listen for anything that would give its own position away. He's been at this for hours and hasn't even found as much of a sign that the Night Fury was even in the forest!

"By this time it could be half way around the world!" Ukiah thought angrily. He knew he was foolish for even thinking of hunting a dragon, especially one that no one ever sees in this part of the world.

He shook his head angrily at himself, but then stopped as soon as he realized that he was still on the hunt! Even though the dragon might be gone from the Fallis Woods, he knew the game hadn't gone anywhere!

Switching his attention from the dragon to the game, he began searching for animals that would make him a profit, rather than a trade. Fox pelts sold quite well if they were in decent shape and with a beautiful color.

Leather apparel sold well also, but he didn't have the time or the aptitude to even consider making belts, boots, gloves, and bands. He just wanted some good fox pelts to make some quicker gold.

An hour went by and sun was just peaking a little bit over the hills and trees. Ukiah found himself with one good fox pelt, in decent condition and a magnificent reddish-orange!

"This will make a quick 10 gold!" laughed Ukiah, holding the red pelt, carefully observing it.

Rolling the pelt up and tying it to his back with extra straps dangling from his vest, he started to make his way home.

Realizing that he was hungry because of the activities in the past few hours, and not having eaten anything before heading out, he started to make way to a small pond and stream he knew of to pick up some fish for breakfast.

The humidity from the storm and the heat from the growing sun had caused a small fog to rise from the ground. Ukiah loved fog, made him think for some reason. He guessed that it was just because of the sense that you get from it, like almost makes the area mystical.

Arriving at the pond, Ukiah took off his boots and rolled up his pant legs. Releasing the arrow loaded in his crossbow and reloaded it with a special arrow that had a hook shaped head with a small rope attached to it, which connected to his wrist.

Wading into the pond scanning the water with his crossbow, it didn't take long before he shot a fish that couldn't get too far with the arrow through it and a rope pulling it back.

Tossing the fish on the shore with the rest of his equipment he reloaded the fishing arrow and continued scanning the water.

Just as he harpooned the next fish and started reeling it in, he heard a small snap behind him.

Completely forgetting about the fish and slowly drawing an extra arrow that he kept on the side of his crossbow, he notched it and tried to angle his point of view to see what was behind him through the reflection of the water.

Not having much success, he decided to quickly spin around, dropping to one knee to brace him to get a more accurate shot off if needed. Praying to the god's that it would work; he quickly dropped to his knee, swinging his crossbow around to the left while pivoting on his left foot.

What he saw startled him so bad that even if he had half a day to take aim at it, he would have still missed!

The Night Fury was right in front of him, staring at Ukiah with a half-eaten fish in his mouth!

Time seemed to stop at this moment for Ukiah, because he just sat there frozen and staring back at what he considered a wonder of the world.

The Night Fury just stood there, almost waiting to see what Ukiah would do, but in a defensive position. Finally Ukiah whispered, mostly to himself, "What are you waiting for? You could have killed me three times over."

Almost hearing and understanding him, the Night Fury swallowed the fish and changed its focus to something behind Ukiah. Ukiah slowly turned around and saw what it was staring at. The harpooned fish, floating in the water;

Ukiah turned to the dragon and said "if you don't attack me, I'll give it to you."

Killing the dragon was out of the question at this point, surprise was definitely not on Ukiah's side and that's what he would need in order to it take down.

Right now, he just wanted to get out of here and get back to the cave! Slowly walking back, he grabbed the fish and pulled out the arrow.

Gesturing the fish to the dragon, he tossed it away from his equipment.

The Night Fury, also being cautious with Ukiah, slowly walked to where the fish had landed.

Ukiah at the same time was walking slowly to his equipment and while putting on his boots, he watched the dragon, which by this time had completely swallowed the fish.

After putting on his boots, he grabbed his crossbow and started to walk slowly away. To Ukiah's horror, the dragon started to follow him! To which Ukiah responded with an increased his pace of his own.

The dragon started to do the same which was the final straw for Ukiah! Ukiah spun around and ran!

Ukiah has always quick on his feet, but he never ran from against a dragon. He could hear a loud roar or growl and a suddenly found himself knocked down on his back, pinned to the ground by the Night Fury!

"Get off of me!" Ukiah screamed, "Somebody help me!" even when he knew the yelling wouldn't do much, it made him feel a little better. Struggling and kicking against the weight that settled on him, he could do nothing but stare and rely on the mercy of a dragon considered to be thee representative of death itself.

"I just hope it's quick" Ukiah almost cried.

As he looked up at the dragon, its eyes looked angry but then suddenly, they almost seemed too rolled back and it began almost coughing! Relief and another horror flooded Ukiah as he saw a half-eaten fish fall out of its mouth onto his chest.

Ukiah wanted to hurl so bad with the smell of the fish, but as he was about to, the pressure released off of him. The dragon was getting up! Rearing up and sitting up on his rear legs, the dragon just looked at Ukiah. Ukiah's first instinct was to run, but experience told him otherwise.

Slowly sitting up he thought "If this dragon was going to kill me, he would have done it probably last night when I saw him from the cave, I'm sure he saw me."

Looking at the dragon and then at the fish Ukiah had no idea what the dragon wanted.

Looking back at it with a confused look must have tipped off the dragon, because no sooner had Ukiah done so, the dragon gestured to eat it with a nod of his head.

Ukiah slightly smiled with curiosity at the look of the dragon. Almost smiling itself, it looked kind of goofy with its eyes and toothless mouth.

Ukiah re-gathering himself stared at the fish, then back to the dragon, and then slowly went for his dagger strapped to his arm.

The Night Fury's expression changed immediately. It growled viciously at the dagger. Ukiah stopped, withdrawing his hand and then gestured to the fish and making cutting motions over it. If he was going to eat a partly digested fish, he was going to get the best of what he could.

The Night Fury's expression didn't change but his growling did stop. Ukiah continued to go for the dagger, but a lot more slowly this time.

By the time he had the dagger in his hand to its sheath, Ukiah had a few strips of fish meat, the dragon's expression relaxed. Ukiah looked at the fish strips and then closed his eyes as he bit into the raw fish meat which was cold, wet (probably from the fluids from inside the dragon) and bland.

Ukiah had eaten raw fish before when he couldn't start a fire, so that didn't bug him as much as the fact he was eating regurgitated fish.

After getting over his gag reflex and eating the last strip, Ukiah stared at the Night Fury. Making no more motions or gestures, Ukiah slowly got up and even more slowly picked up his crossbow. The dragon just stared at him in his sitting position all the while this was done.

Making sure that the Night Fury wasn't expecting anything else; Ukiah turned and began to walk back to the cave. Noticing that he was being followed again, he turned to the Night Fury and unsuccessfully tried to shoo away a dragon. This continued for about an hour of starting to walk and then turning around shooing the dragon.

When Ukiah got to the entrance of his cave, the Night Fury spread its wings and flew to the sky. "Finally" sighed Ukiah as he shed his weapons and extra layers of leather.

Carefully putting the fox pelt in a basket that was ready to go to Thariin, he secured the lid and fell down onto his makeshift bed pulling a fur blanket over him.

He recounted what had happened to him the past few hours. He didn't get to too far in the thought process, because sleep finally overcame him and it was a very deep sleep, but Ukiah still had one eye open.

* * *

It wasn't until the next morning, when Ukiah woke up. Stretching, he looked out of the opening of his cave and saw a beautiful sunrise. The sky was painted with a magnificent red and orange, with stray beams of the sun shooting through.

Ukiah took a few minutes to soak in this wonderful sight and to think of yesterday's events. He had been spared by a dragon deemed merciless and a cold killer. On top of that it gave him something in return. Puzzled and almost a little disturbed, Ukiah turned around to go back into the cave.

It has been longer than an entire day since Ukiah had eaten anything…well, decent, and he was starving! Grabbing a few slabs of venison steaks from a store jar in the back, and making sure that the meat was still good, he threw it on a metal skillet on top of a fire pit, and proceeded to make a fire by grabbing some extra wood in the back of the cave.

No sooner had he returned from the back of his cave, he noticed that one of the venison steaks was missing and a fire had been lit under the skillet, with a small trail of fire leading to the opening of the cave.

Curiously, Ukiah drew his dagger and carefully went out and looked around.

Seeing nothing to the right or the left of the cave, he looked forward and saw a black dragon, sitting on the rock pinnacle right in front of him.

The Night Fury had an almost innocent look on his face, tilting his head, as if wondering if he could come in. Ukiah just stood there, staring back at the dragon. For some reason, Ukiah didn't even have a feeling of fear or horror. He didn't even have the thought to run. He was more so curious as to why the dragon lit his fire?

"What are you doing buddy?" whispered Ukiah, "What do you want?"

A crazy thought came into Ukiah's head, and he started to back up for two reasons: One, the meat was going to burn if he didn't flip it, and two he wanted to give himself enough distance between him and the dragon when he invited it over.

After sheathing his dagger and flipping the meat, he looked at the Night Fury and, silently cursing himself for doing another insane action involving the dragon, waved the dragon to come over.

No sooner had he done so, the Night Fury was in his cave lying down next to the fire. Ukiah was, again, astounded! This dragon was deemed to be the most vicious and deadly dragon of them all, and here was one lying down in his cave, lighting his fires!

Ukiah let himself relax a little bit and sat down on a rock opposite from the dragon.

After a few minutes of silence, and turning the meat, Ukiah tossed half a venison steak to the dragon and proceeded to eat the other half.

After the silent meeting and breakfast, the dragon stood up and walked to the edge of the cliff by the opening. Spreading its large wings, Ukiah was amazed at how the dragon looked bigger with the wings open! He noticed something that he hadn't noticed before on the back of the dragon, a streak of almost dark blue on the, which you wouldn't see in the dark.

"Wow" whispered Ukiah.

The Night Fury launched itself up in the air and rocketed out of sight.

Amazed by the recent event, Ukiah thought of how his world had changed. From seeing the deadly Night Fury, who showed no mercy to its victims, to something that was almost looking out for him. He pondered on this a few hours and then began to pack for the trip to Thariin.

* * *

It's been a few days since the Night Fury incident, and between then and now, Ukiah has ran into the dragon a number of times throughout each day. The Night Fury had actually moved its place of residence from the rock pinnacle to on top of the Ukiah's cave.

Every morning at the same time, the Night Fury would come down and light the fire in the fire pit. Ukiah made sure that the wood was ready every night.

Sometimes Ukiah would be there in the morning, sometimes he wouldn't. The days' he was gone were when he left to get some fish for the dragon and some fresh venison for himself. He would always cook a venison steak for him and a fish for the Night Fury.

Ukiah's desire of gold and glory for killing the dragon had completely vanished! The Night Fury had become a real friend and his only friend at that. He almost thought that the Night Fury had the same feelings for him!

Ukiah started calling him Kobaalt, after the dark blue streak running down his back. For Ukiah and Kobaalt, this was just the beginning of how deep their friendship would go.


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, so I thought I updated the first chapter, but it didn't really do that. Sorry about that, it is now finally updated. Anyways here's chapter three and I hope it's

a little better than the last two. I read them and about threw up in my mouth seeing some errors I made. Here you go!

**Chapter 3**

"Hiccup! Hurry up son!" Stoick roared from the docks to the ship.

"I'm coming, I'm coming" Hiccup yelled back. "Dad seems to be on edge a bit today" he muttered as he ran down the gangway, almost falling off.

"Finally" said Stoick, "I thought you were packing the entire ship for you daypack!"

"Just because I had to go back to the ship to get my gold doesn't mean that I was going to take three days to do it." Hiccup huffed back.

Stoick just grunted and began to make way to the Thariin Keep set on a hill to the east. To which the ship's crew, Astrid, and Hiccup have never seen anything so enormous!

The grey stoned castle was big enough to fit the entire village of Berk! The size of the village of Thariin was equally impressive! It was 10 Berks altogether. All of this and Stoick seemed to be un-phased by it.

Astrid and Hiccup were having a hard time keeping the pace that Stoick was moving at.

"He's in a hurry isn't he" whispered Astrid almost jogging along.

"Yeah, I guess he's really nervous right now. He doesn't want this meeting to be a waste of two months!" Hiccup quietly replied.

"It better not be a waste of time, I can't stand that ship any longer." Astrid said with a little agitation in her voice.

As they walked, Hiccup kept on thinking of the Night Fury he had seen almost a week ago.

Astrid believed him when he told her what he saw; Stoick on the other hand thought it was Hiccup wanting to think that he saw Toothless.

"Just one more month and you can fly him to your heart's content." Stoick told his son when he learned he saw a Night Fury.

Hiccup knew that he saw a Night Fury, and it wasn't Toothless, because Toothless couldn't fly without him. This made Hiccup realize that he wasn't the only one who was going to be anxious to fly when he got back.

The keep was a lot farther than all three of them thought! They've been walking for an hour and were just in the middle of the city where the upper and lower markets were at.

The two markets were huge! The stands were innumerable vendors all set up and competing with each other for any one that may be interested in their goods.

It took Stoick's angry shout to get both Astrid and Hiccup's attention, which also got a few other's attention as well.

"Sorry dad! Just looking around and..." Hiccup said.

"You can look around AFTER we meet with chief Strogg-Stone. I need to get there as soon as possible!" Stoick said in a not so soft and quiet tone. "Just stay with me, and don't get side tracked!"

Hiccup knew that his dad was under a lot of pressure and didn't even bother looking at anything else, even a fight that was going on down a street.

A half hour passed by and the group was still making way with the same speed of a trotting horse, even while going up the many flights of stairs that lead to Thariin Keep.

Chief Strogg must have seen them while they were walking up the stairs, because he was already outside ready to greet them.

If the keep was an impressive sight, Strogg the Stone was even more so!

Stoick the Vast was big, even for a Viking, but Strogg was 6 inches bigger in both height and width! The sight of him made Hiccup feel small. Well smaller.

"Stoick the Vast, it is good to see you again!" thundered Strogg with open arms.

"Like-wise old friend, like-wise" softly replied Stoick putting his hand on Strogg's shoulder.

As if on cue both of them embraced each other, almost as if they were trying to squeeze each other's head's off!

"Ohhhh…that's probably why dad was in such a hurry! He wanted to see an old buddy he never mentioned to me about" thought Hiccup, a little annoyed at the thought.

"Now then, who do we have here?" Strogg asked looking down at both Astrid and Hiccup. "Your own?"

"Only one, and that's Hiccup" Stoick said proudly looking at his son.

"Ahh…so you're the one who defeated the Green Death!" exclaimed Strogg, eyeing Hiccup. "I don't know if I would have believed it if you told me yourself."

"I know, I know," Hiccup replied, again a little annoyed "That's about what everyone says when they first meet me."

"Hopefully we won't need your…dragon slaying skills while you're here." Strogg said jokingly, "wouldn't want you to lose your other foot!" gesturing to Hiccup's metal leg.

"Yeah, that would definitely be most unfortunate if that happened" Hiccup replied with a little agitation in his voice.

Astrid up until this point was enjoying the conversation. But after all this attention to Hiccup, she couldn't help but feel a little envious of Hiccup.

"And this is Astrid" Stoick said, quickly turning the attention away from the angrier Hiccup. "She is a true warrior in of herself!"

Strogg turning his attention from Hiccup stared at Astrid, almost studying her. She was holding her axe in a way that a confident Viking warrior always does, and seemed like she was ready to stand her ground.

"I guess if there was a dragon raid here in Thariin, we'll be in good company with her." Strogg smiled.

"Oh sure, take all the credit away from the dragon slayer" thought Hiccup a lot more annoyed at this point.

"Truth is, is that Strogg is right. Astrid is a better dragon killer than me. Good thing she doesn't want to." thought Hiccup. Just thinking of Astrid going back to wanting to kill dragons gave him a chill down his neck. "Good thing that she won't go back" he reaffirmed in his mind.

"Come Stoick, we have much to catch up on and to discuss. The two children can wander through the keep if they wish to, and I have a table of the best food in all of Thariin prepared for you all." Strogg offered.

"I think that they wanted to go and explore the village for a little bit." Stoick quickly replied.

"He really wants us away from here" Hiccup thought.

"Yes, we would like that" Astrid said with great timing, with Hiccup nodding his head in agreement.

"Very well, if you ever want to come in, the guards will let you in" Strogg said glaring at the two guards posted in front of the giant doors, giving them a sign of 'don't bother them'.

With a sigh of relief, Hiccup and Astrid both thanked Strogg for his kindness and began to descend the flights of stairs that lead to the keep.

Both of them were excited to see other Vikings in a whole new setting, wondering who they would meet. Little did they know, was that one person they would meet, would change their lives forever.

* * *

The road that led to Thariin Village was not so much a road as it was a trail; and only a trail if you knew where it went. Ukiah was the really the only person who knew the trail because he was the only one that travelled it. In fact Ukiah was pretty sure that he was the one who blazed the trail.

Walking through the woods put Ukiah on edge. He didn't like it as much because he wasn't hunting through the woods.

He felt exposed, almost defenseless. Which was a ridiculous thought because he had his crossbow on his back and a dagger strapped to his arm. He usually left the spears on trips to Thariin because he uses the three holes to help strap the basket to his back.

On top of being armed, he had a friend that was probably watching him right now.

He had told Kobaalt to stay and that he would be back in three days. Of course, giving the past experiences with Kobaalt listening to him, Ukiah had planned on him following, until he got to the town limits to where Kobaalt would safely stay inside the woods and wait for him to return.

Turning around to see if he could see Kobaalt gave him the chills, "How does a dragon sneak around so well?" He thought.

Continuing through the forest, Ukiah kept an eye out for small game that would be his food for the trip. All his trips he usually picks up a few rabbits and birds that don't weigh that much and were good eating.

Eight hours came and went, and when he reached the top of a hill, he could see Thariin Keep and the village below it. It was still a good 2 miles away, and Ukiah wanted to get there as soon as possible to sell as many goods as he could in the first day.

He only stays in the village for one and a half days, and the pelts and leather that he didn't sell; he gave it as tribute to Strogg, just for good measure.

The thought of Strogg made Ukiah suddenly flare up with hatred. Strogg was a ruthless tyrant who only cared really for himself, who enjoys watching death as though it were a game. Few people would know it though when they'd first meet him. To add to his list, he taxes the people so that he doesn't have to go out and hunt for himself. He has a steward that runs the village for him so he doesn't have to do anything! All he cares for is the food that he eats and making sure that the dragon arena was full of dragons or criminals.

The dragon arena was the one thing that Ukiah disagreed with most Vikings. He hated any kind of animal, dragons included, suffering. The arena was only a way to kill dragons in a slow and degrading way.

"There's only one way to kill anything," Ukiah angrily said to himself "and that's quickly."

Most times, dragons are pitted against each other, but when dragons were thinning out in the cages, they would have the villages most prestigious men duel a dragon, and if they won, they were on a road to be called a 'Champion of Thariin. You had to kill at least one of every kind of dragon in order to achieve the status. Then when the dragons were down to two or three left in the cages, they pitted them against the criminals. It was an execution for either one.

Ukiah only watched one match and it was a criminal against a Deadly Nadder. Watching both fight only to survive made Ukiah sick to his stomach. He swore that he would never go to another match at the arena again.

On top of all the reasons why he hated Strogg, was the reason why Ukiah had no family, or friends.

Just as he got to this thought, Ukiah found himself in the front of the gate of Thariin.

After conversing with the gate guards, they escorted him to the market place and gave him an assigned spot to sell his goods.

His assigned spot was at the upper marketplace, an area designated for those that weren't from Thariin Village or those who had unique goods to sell. The lower marketplace was made up of locals, such as farmers and butchers.

Most vendors had tables or stalls to display their items. Ukiah only had a small woven blanket which was designated only for displaying his merchandise. After laying the blanket down and organizing his pelts and leather apparel, he began calling out to people:

"You there! Yes you! You look like a true Viking warrior, how about a new leather belt to carry your axe!" or "Wouldn't the lady of the house love this nice bear pelt as a coat or a blanket?"

Honestly, he didn't really need to say anything. He was one of the few who sold pelts and furs and it was always lot easier for a Viking to buy or trade new fur boots than to hunt an animal down.

It wasn't long before Ukiah had a group of people around his spot. It was going to be a good day, Ukiah could feel it!

* * *

"Wow can you believe the size of the just the town square!?" exclaimed Astrid.

Hiccup was equally amazed at the shear amount of people bustling around. "It sure is big!" Hiccup replied in awe.

"Come on, let's check out the all the stalls and stands!" Astrid said excitedly.

Stoick had each given them twelve gold coins each and they both wanted to get something so that they could remember this trip.

Actually, Hiccup wanted to give Astrid something for her to remember him, and of course the trip. He was a little shy about this thought because he was only used to…well you know, flying on a dragon with her, having Toothless carry Astrid as they went hiking around Berk, making her a new battle-axe in Gobber's shop. You know the usual stuff.

This was going to be the first thing that he would give her that would be a real surprise.

After browsing a few of the stalls, they learned that all the vendors here had only local stuff such as food, and after talking to a few of the locals, they were directed to go to the upper marketplace.

Excited about the new options they discovered, they started to visit every vendor they could.

One was selling unique looking swords, curved and almost rounded at the end. Astrid gave one a few swings and wasn't too impressed with it, but ended up buying an iron dagger with a handle carved in the shape of a wolf's head for eight gold.

One stand was selling shrunken heads, which both of them stayed clear from that.

The vendors were almost endless and the marketplace usually closed down when the sun went down.

Now only visiting stalls that had something that they were interested in, they passed by stalls with artwork, clothes, or unique foods. They ran from vendor to vendor to make sure they saw all they could.

Hiccup was really running out of time and options. He had no idea what to get for Astrid. Then, right before closing time, Astrid wanted to go see a vendor that was selling pelts and leather apparel.

Walking up to the young man leaning against a pole next to his stand, Hiccup and Astrid began browsing the pelts and styles of leather outfits.

"Take your time!" the owner said, "I'll be here all night!"

"Why's that" Astrid asked.

"Well, I actually don't come here that often, and don't stay too long." The teenager replied with a smile, "So the guards let me stay open all night."

"Where are you from then?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm from here, just not here, I live 20 miles north of here in a forest." he answered. "This is why I don't set up in the local market."

"So you're a hunter then." smiled Astrid.

"What gave it away?" the owner said jokingly, picking up a crossbow set against the wall.

"That must be fun…what's your name?" Astrid asked.

"Ukiah" he replied.

Astrid nodded in acknowledgement and then began to examine a leather headband with unique carvings in it.

Hiccup was studying what Astrid was holding thinking he may have just found what he was looking for.

Ukiah also seeing the interest on Astrid face, seized on the moment saying: "that's the best one that I made in this lot. It took me three days just to get the carvings right."

"Wow, it's beautiful; I don't think I can afford it." Astrid said sadly.

"Well, it happens to be 15 coins, but since you look like nice people, and have been very kind to me, I'll sell it for 8 instead."

As if a knife was being turned in a wound, Astrid's face displayed a great amount of grief.

Hiccup's face was the exact opposite; jumping on the moment with great speed and less coordination.

Tripping over a pelt that he was pretending to look at, he said with great excitement in his voice "I'll buy it!"

Looking up at Hiccup and realizing what he was doing, said: "well then, it's sold to the young lady for 8 gold coins!"

Astrid looked at Hiccup with a great deal of embarrassment and amazement on her face. As Hiccup gave the gold to Ukiah, he turned to Astrid smiling. To which Astrid quickly changed his facial expression from happy to pain with a punch to the arm.

"Oof! I thought we were done with that part!" Hiccup shouted.

Without saying a word Astrid grabbed Hiccups shirt and kissed him.

"Ah, I guess were not done with that then…" Hiccup said smiling.

Ukiah being a spectator, said to Hiccup, "You're a lucky Viking, to have her!"

"Thank you Ukiah" replied Hiccup "I know I am."

"You guys better start heading back home, the town guard aren't really friendly when kids are in the streets at night, and some of the locals aren't much better." Ukiah said, almost pushing them away.

"Thank you Ukiah, maybe we'll see you tomorrow before you leave." Hiccup said hopefully.

"Well, I'll be here all day tomorrow; I'm leaving the day after. If anyone you know needs some furs or a new leather belt, don't be afraid to bring them with you!" Ukiah said with a smile.

The two waved good-bye as they started their walk back to the docks. Astrid took off her old head band and put the new one on. Hiccup was absolutely smitten when he saw her do this.

Astrid noticing the small, goofy grin on his face punched him in the arm again.

"Agh! Well it was worth it." Hiccup said laughingly.

Watching the two go, Ukiah wished that his one friend could be here with him.

Putting away most of his pelts, he laid against the stone fence that was behind him and looked up in the sky thinking of Kobaalt.

Little did he know, was that he wasn't really alone, and was probably looking straight at Kobaalt!

Kobaalt saw Ukiah walk into Thariin, and couldn't stand the fact that he couldn't see him anymore; so he flew up high enough to not be seen and was flying circles around Thariin, watching over Ukiah.

Ukiah looking at the night sky, and obviously not seeing Kobaalt, pulled a fur blanket over him and fell into a deep sleep, this time with both eyes closed.


	4. Chapter 4

****So just an FYI, I pre-wrote the first 5 chapters. that's why I've been updating so much lately. It'll for sure slow down after that. Enjoy chapter 4! Things are going to start heating up now!

**Chapter 4**

"You there, wake up!" a voice ordered.

"Wha-what's going on, who's there?" Ukiah said tiredly, trying to get his bearings straight.

"The Thariin Guard that's who, now get up!" The voice said again, this time kicking Ukiah.

"The guard? I didn't call for the guard? Ukiah said rolling away as the foot made contact with his ribs. He was a lot more awake at this point and saw four heavily armed guards standing around him.

The leader of the group continued to say, "No one called us; you're under arrest for poaching on Strogg the Stone's land."

Ukiah's head snapped up "What!? Poaching?" Ukiah roared, jumping to his feet, "I haven't been poaching! I've been hunting the same grounds for years and have never been even bothered with issues such as this!"

"Well that's too bad, your charges have just been increased now…" growled the lead guard. "Looks like the arena for you…"

"No! I can't go to the arena! The place that I swore to never would go to again!" Ukiah screamed in his head "Wait! When did this become an issue? I'll pay whatever you charge!" exclaimed Ukiah.

The expression on his face must have shown the fear Ukiah had, making the guard feel bolder. "It's an issue now and you will pay by serving time in the arena. Now move!" the guard yelled, drawing his sword.

"Fine, fine…I'll come. Let me just put away my stuff…" Ukiah said moving towards his pack.

"Move now! I'll add five extra years to your sentence, supposing you live that long!" The guard yelled.

Ukiah was already sifting through his stuff and then like lightning, grabbed his crossbow and quiver and took off running.

"Halt!" The guard screamed.

In one smooth motion, Ukiah slung his crossbow over his back with a strap holding it in place. While running faster than he ever did before, he skillfully secured his quiver to his right leg with a strap attached to the quiver.

"You two, over there; don't let him get to those stairs." The lead guard ordered.

Realizing that he was trapped in the upper marketplace, he began looking below the wall he was running next to. There were a few market stalls right below him a good 20-30 feet. Praying that another crazy idea would work, Ukiah leaped on top of the ledge in one bound and without a second thought, jumped off the ledge and fell right on top of a table.

CRASH! The table collapsed at the sudden change of weight. Throwing Ukiah's balance off, he also rolled on the ground.

"NO! Get him!" screamed the lead guard, more panicked this time.

"I just need to get out of here and into the foothills; no one will find me once I'm out there." Ukiah thought, as he picked himself up and started to run again.

Ukiah's successful plan came with good and bad news, good news was he landed facing a dimly lit street, which provided cover for Ukiah, who was wearing his darker leather hunting jacket. The bad news was that the guards in the lower market place were now hot on his heels.

Ukiah by all means was in better shape and was carrying lighter things than what a Viking guard would be carrying.

Keeping his distance between him and the guards, he did a quick study of the streets. He was at an intersection that went three other ways, all of them with at least one guard running down it.

"Looks like I'll follow Kobaalt's method of getting away. Up." Ukiah said running on a stack of crates and then jumping onto a roof of a house.

Being unhindered by random objects in the streets, Ukiah was moving a lot faster than he was when he was on flat ground.

Jumping from roof to roof, he saw a place to where he could cross to the other side of the street. A thin plank of wood holding a single lantern might be able to hold his weight for a second.

In one bound he landed with one foot on the plank and then immediately jumping right after that, pushed off with the foot on the plank.

With another off the cuff plan working better than he anticipated, Ukiah laughed softly and began making his way back to where he came from.

He could hear the guards shouting obscenities about him and ran past where he hiding.

Making sure the guards had gone away; he continued to glide across the roofs. "I should have been a thief" Ukiah thought confidently as he continued his course.

At length, he was back at the intersection where he first climbed on top of the roof. Seeing the crates that he used to climb to the roof, smashed and tipped over, told Ukiah that the guards had unsuccessfully tried to follow him the same way.

Jumping down from the roof, Ukiah double checked the streets.

"Good, no torches." Ukiah whispered smugly.

"No, but one guard." A voice came from behind.

Those were the last words Ukiah heard before the world went black

* * *

"I think it's this way" Hiccup said turning down a street.

"Hiccup! Don't you remember that blacksmithing stand? We passed it 3 times already!" Astrid replied a little agitated that Hiccup wouldn't let her lead.

"Hmm? No, no, this is totally a different way; trust me I know where I'm going." Hiccup responded pathetically.

Astrid then walked over to the counter and kneeled down, picking something up. "What's this then?" she asked turning around and holding her dagger with the wolf carved in the handle.

"Oh well, um, that's a dagger that you, um…found?" Hiccups voice kind of cracked when he finished that sentence.

"Face it, you're lost. Let me try to find the way to the ship. Ok?" Astrid said in the most calm way that she could.

"Fine…" Hiccup said a little disappointed in his navigation skills.

"Come on, we'll go straight." Astrid said.

Before leaving Strogg and Stoick, they agreed that they would meet up back at the ship.

Looking at the keep, Astrid started to head the opposite way.

Walking for a half hour, they saw what looked like a big…arena almost.

"Wonder what that is?" Astrid said curiously, "Let's check it out real quick."

"Astrid, we really need to be getting back to the ship, can't we explore it tomorrow?" Hiccup replied a little nervously.

"Oh come on Hiccup, we're already late, a few more minutes won't hurt, and besides if you wanted to get to the ship earlier, you would have asked the group of guards we saw walking in the marketplace. Or let me lead earlier" Astrid said almost accusingly.

"Well yeah, but, well, um...oh alright, fine." Hiccup said a lot more defeated than he was when he let Astrid lead.

Getting closer to the ring like structure, they soon realized by the banners and murals on the walls, that it was a dragon arena.

Almost hesitating against her own idea, Astrid kept on moving in.

Walking through one of the arch-ways, Astrid stood there gaping at the size of the place. With seats around the entire ring and a similar chain net, like the one at Berk, was over the actual arena; they both stood there amazed.

"You there! Halt!" a voice came from beside them, which startled Hiccup.

Both of them simultaneously turned to see a guard with a torch walking towards them.

"You shouldn't be here." growled the guard. "Why are you here?"

"We uh, were just looking around and um and…" stammered Hiccup.

"We were lost, trying to find the docks" Astrid inserted "while we were looking for them, we found this place by accident."

"You're not from around here?" asked the guard.

"No, we're from Berk. We're with Stoick the Vast." Astrid replied.

"Stoick?" the guard said puzzled, "I thought he was in the keep? What are you two doing out here this late?"

"Stoick and Strogg went into the keep to talk. We decided to visit the village and see what there was here." Hiccup replied.

"Yeah, we were supposed to meet back at the ship, but we got lost and found this place instead." Astrid affirmed, gesturing to the arena.

"Humph, maybe you should tell me your names and then I might believe you." The guard said a little suspicious.

"My name's Astrid Hofferson." Astrid stated with a hint of anger behind her voice.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the III." Hiccup followed up with.

"What? You're Hiccup the dragon killer? The guard said looking surprised and even more suspicious.

"Why do people not believe me!? Do they think that I lost my foot tripping over a rock or something?" Hiccup exclaimed angrily shaking his leg in front of him.

"No, no" the guard quickly changing his attitude and demeanor, afraid of offending a renowned hero even more. "I was just expecting someone…bigger."

"Yeah, everyone says that too." Hiccup said gloomily.

The guard burst into laughter and said "Well, I didn't think a hero such as you, would be the type to get lost."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Astrid threw in, looking at Hiccup with a smirk.

Hiccup just shook his head; it was a losing battle for him so he wasn't even going to try to save himself.

"Let me get a guard to take my watch, I can escort you to your ship." The guard said.

"Thanks." Hiccup replied still a little dejected.

"Horker! HORKER!" the guard yelled.

"Yeah? What is it?" replied another guard whose torch was the only thing visible.

"I'm going to guide some kids to the docks, cover my watch will ya?"

"Yeah, sure thing." The other guard yelled back, sounding a little annoyed.

"Come on, I think I may know where your ship may be, and if not, the dock master will." The guard said, beckoning the two to follow him.

* * *

"So is the arena used…often?" Astrid asked.

They've been walking for a few minutes and Astrid wanted to break up the silence.

"Well, not recently, we haven't had a dragon raid in a while, and the last criminal in the ring was lucky enough to get an axe into the throat of the Nadder."

"What!" exclaimed Astrid and Hiccup at the same time.

"Yeah, we use it to either execute criminals or dragons, either way we win." The guard said calmly, as if he was walking through a valley of flowers.

This disturbed Hiccup and Astrid greatly, because they loved their dragons and they never really thought of The Kill Ring as a form of execution.

To be honest, they never really had criminals either.

A half hour went by and any thought of conversation was quickly dismissed.

"Here you go you two, this should be your ship." The guard said looking at a paper he had acquired from the dock house.

"Thanks for your help." Astrid said with an expression of relief on her face.

"Yeah, thanks." Hiccup followed up with. A little depressed.

This obviously wasn't his night to shine. Then, looking up and seeing Astrid with her new headband, his mind quickly changed. Buying her headband was totally worth anything that may have happened tonight. She would have that for a really long time, because he threw away her old headband when she was adjusting her new one.

"No problem, if you two want, you can come back to the arena tomorrow and I can give you a tour of the arena if you want? The cages are all empty, even the criminal ones. Which is actually pretty rare" The guard offered.

"Thanks, we'll have to see about that." Hiccup replied.

"Well, have a good night!" the guard said walking off.

"You too!" they both shouted back.

The guard just waved his hand without looking back.

"Well, let's go get some rest. I want to go see Ukiah again tomorrow" Astrid said.

"Why?" Hiccup asked, a little alarmed at this.

"Well, he was nice, and he gave you a deal that you obviously needed." She said while pointing to her new headband.

"Yeah, well, that was…well…" Hiccup was lost for words again.

Astrid laughed "I just want to thank him for the headband, nothing more." Then grabbing Hiccup, she started to walk up the gangway

"Oh and maybe a kiss goodbye" She said calmly, grinning mischievously.

Hiccup looked at her with an expression of horror to which she just laughed at again.

Realizing it was a joke, Hiccup relaxed, smiling also.

Both of them were enjoying each other when faintly, they began to hear a familiar sound.

It was almost a faint whistling sound, which grew and began to turn into a scream.

Astrid, realizing what it was, looked at Hiccup whose face was pale.

"Hiccup, is that a…"Astrid began to say.

"NIGHT FURY!" a guard screamed from somewhere on the dock.

Suddenly a huge blue explosion went off in the middle of the town, right where the market place was at.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, I originally had this as a single chapter, but I decided to add chapter 6 with it, makes it a little more exciting to read. So sorry if it's too long and also the next update won't be for a while now, which is bad because it ends on an exciting part. So read on!**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

After the leader of guard knocked Ukiah out, he had him hauled off to the arena dungeon. Smiling at his genius that allowed him to catch the perpetrator, he pulled up his belt with satisfaction and began to follow the rest of the guards that were carrying Ukiah away.

While walking with his head up high, he failed to hear the small whistle sound, which grew into the scream that everyone feared. Unfortunately, he heard the scream a little too late which allowed Kobaalt to blast him with one fireball.

"Night Fury!" the rest of the guards screamed! Scattering, they left one guard who ended up dragging Ukiah to cover.

One of the guards ran to a bell that was stationed in the middle of the marketplace.

"DING, DING, DING, DING, DING, DING!"

Soon the entire village was ringing with bells. Guards were running everywhere, torches were lit and lifted into the air, and again another explosion went off, this time at the arena, bringing all of the guard's attention to that area.

Stoick and Strogg were still discussing the trade route when they heard the bells ringing. Strogg running to the nearby window exploded with anger when he saw his favorite place start up in flames.

"Concentrate all the nets and ropes at the arena! I want that thing alive!" Then turning to a guard standing at the ready, Strogg said, "Captain, have the men load the keep's catapults with nets! Have them fire over the arena!"

"Yes my Chief" replied the captain.

Stoick at this point could do nothing but grab his hammer and follow Strogg who was running down the stairway and then out the main door.

"I'm sorry Hiccup," He thought to himself, casting himself to the night when Hiccup said he heard a Night Fury "I have to help Strogg now."

* * *

"Hiccup! Where are you going?" Astrid yelled running after him.

"I have to stop them! They can't kill it!" Hiccup yelled running towards the arena.

"You're insane Hiccup! It's not Toothless! It'll kill you!" Astrid screamed back.

Hiccup didn't hear her, he had to do something! Bumping into guards or others who were in an entire panic, he just kept on charging through, when a third explosion went off at the arena.

Hiccup could see silhouettes of men running around with the fire behind them that was set to the arena.

"Why is a Night Fury attacking without a real reason?" Hiccup frantically thought to himself. "Even if I see the Night Fury, what am I going to do to stop it from attacking?"

"Fire all nets over the arena!" a guard shouted!

Catching his attention, Hiccup saw a catapult launch its load nearby to his left.

"No stop! Don't shoot the dragon!" He pleaded.

Taken back by the comment, the guard in charge of the catapult looked at Hiccup. "Get inside pup! A Night Fury is attacking!" He roared angrily.

"I know! You can't hurt him! He-" Hiccup was cut off by the sound of more catapults launching they're nets.

He looked over at Thariin Village and the keep, he saw dozens more catapults launching their nets and ropes.

"I'm too late…"Hiccup whispered, falling onto his knees, staring helplessly at the village.

Astrid caught up with him at this time and before she could say anything, a screech pierced the air as a black object fell out of the sky and landed somewhere in the village.

A cheer rang throughout the village of Thariin, from the docks, clear to the keep. The only ones not celebrating were Hiccup and Astrid who silently stared at the arena, still ablaze.

* * *

"Where is it?" Strogg yelled so loud that guards from the street next to them tried to answer him.

"It landed next to the market place! We've already secured it and are waiting your orders." A younger captain stated. "I've already had some of the men prepare the best cage we have in the arena."

"Let me see it before you haul it off, I want to show it what fear is" Strogg growled.

"Yes my chief" The captain said.

Turning to Stoick, Strogg apologized to him saying "I'm sorry Stoick, I must take care of this; you can go back to the keep and wait for my return."

"No, I would like to be with you. This dragon attack also requires my attention." Stoick said. He was hoping that he would be able to help the dragon in any way that he could indirectly.

"It does not require your attention, only mine. I want to deal with this alone" Strogg replied firmly, ending any chances that Stoick had to be able to come along. "I'll only be a few minutes with it."

"Very well, Strogg" Stoick said, a little disappointed "I'll actually go to the ship and check on the kids, make sure they're not doing anything they shouldn't be doing."

"Ha! If anything I bet they helped! Especially the girl!" Strogg said laughingly, while grabbing his friend's shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

"Yes, they may have…they very well may have…" Stoick said hiding his doubts in his voice.

"I'll see you tomorrow then my friend. Please, instead of the keep, meet me at the arena, and bring the two young ones with you. I'd like to treat you three to front row seats of the killing ring! I think we'll have an eventful day tomorrow!" Strogg said smiling. Then turning to the burning arena said "Well, I may only be able to give you the seats if there are any still left."

"I'll see that they get the invitation; good luck friend" Stoick said returning a hand on the shoulder.

"Now, take me to the dragon!" Strogg ordered.

15 yes sirs went off at the same time, and Strogg was being led away, out of Stoick's sight.

* * *

"So, this is it?" Strogg asked.

"Yes my chief, it must have been knocked senseless from the impact, we checked to see if it was still breathing. You can see that it went right through that house right there." the young captain said pointing to a destroyed building behind them.

Then changing his attention from the building to the dragon, the captain stated "Not as big as I imagined it being, but you can see the damage it created for being smaller than a Nightmare."

"Remember this always in a fight captain: size does not matter, skill does." Strogg stated almost annoyed.

"Yes my chief, I'll be sure to remember that from now on" the captain said.

Turning his complete attention to the downed dragon, Strogg stood there and just stared at it, wishing it was awake. Realizing there was nothing to do about it, he finally ordered it to be sent into the strongest cage they had.

As he began walking back to the keep, his attention was turned to a guard carrying a lifeless body on his back.

"You there, is that a villager? Strogg asked curiously.

"No my chief, he's a hunter, poacher actually. We learned that he has been at it for years and then he ran from us when we were making his arrest. He was crafty, but our lead guard got him. It happened shortly before the Night Fury attacked. In fact our leader was the first to be killed." replied the guard shifting Ukiah over his back.

"Well now, isn't that interesting. I was thinking of letting one of our champions having the honor of killing a Night Fury, but I think we should let this hunter have one more hunt" Strogg said with an evil looking grin on his face. "Were you putting him in an arena dungeon?"

"Yes my chief" came a quick reply

"Put him in the middle of the ring instead, make sure he can't escape and also…" looking at the dagger still strapped to Ukiah's arm. "Make sure he has all of his weapons with him. I think this will be an entertaining fight."

"Yes my chief, it will be done" the single guard replied.

* * *

"I told you Hiccup, I can't step too far out of my bounds!" Stoick yelled "I may be Chief of Berk, but I have no lean or pull here!"

"So you can't ask your so alleged 'friend' to do you a favor?" Hiccup shouted back.

"It's not that simple and you don't know a thing about Strogg and me. There is a reason why I haven't told you about him!" Stoick shot back, quicker than what Hiccup anticipated and throwing him off a bit.

"He's not the person he looks or acts like…he…he's different." Stoick said quietly "He enjoys killing and watching killing."

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked _cautiously_, realizing that he may have just touched a sensitive topic for his dad.

"I should start at the beginning to really explain it. Before I met your mother, when I was about 20 or so years old, maybe just a little older than you; I was part of a Viking raiding party. We were tough, real tough. Even other Viking tribes didn't get in our way…except one." Stoick almost growled. "This Tribe was tough as well, in fact they were known for their skills at war more than farming or fishing."

"What island were they on? Hiccup asked quietly.

"I forget, its' been a long time since then." Stoick replied. "Anyways, Strogg was in charge of the band, and that's where I met him. He liked me I guess because of how I could handle myself in battle."

"Strogg was always an ambitious man; he always wanted our raids to be the biggest and best one. So he suggested that we attack this tribe to show the world who was best. We agreed to do so, thinking that we would just burn a building down or two, load our ship with food and treasure! We wanted to do it to show the world who we were. However, Strogg was thinking something completely different; something that no Viking should think of, and hopefully never will again." Stoick grimly said with his eyes narrowing.

We started the raid in the twilight of the day, fighting tooth and nail with the defenders to just get an inch of ground. Soon, we were able to make a small push and break the line. We lost a lot of men in that fight if I recall correctly." Stoick said this time with a hint of anger behind his voice.

"We started to set fire to one house, and then another, and soon we had the entire village in flames." Stoick said with regret in his voice. "I don't know how it happened; it felt like it went by so fast."

"After most of the battle was over, we were tired and ready to sail away. However, Strogg had acquired a murderous look in his eyes, and ordered us finish the rest of the job by killing the rest of the men, women, and children left alive, which weren't that many."

"I, along with most of the other Vikings, refused. We couldn't even comprehend doing that! He told us that he would leave us on that island if we didn't do what he ordered. I guess that was the last straw for us, because me and the group grabbed the few survivors from the tribe and escorted them down to the ship. Strogg and his few men tried to fight us, but in the end couldn't do anything but watch us take the ship and sail away." Stoick said, looking as if he was seeing it right then.

"But you and Strogg acted like old buddies when we met him!" Hiccup pointed out. "If you left me on an island, I don't think I'd be calling you buddy."

"Yes, that's true, but let me finish my story first." Stoick said reining in the anger that wanted to so badly come out. "We sailed to Thariin after the raid. A few days after landing, another ship docked. It was Strogg and the rest of his men, picked up by a trade ship. We confronted them on the docks to which he and his men kneeled to us and began to plead for forgiveness."

"Strogg said that he knew what he did was wrong and that he will retire as a raider. While others forgave him, I could not. I accepted his request that he would retire and live in Thariin, but I couldn't forget the look in his eyes when we destroyed that village." Stoick finished solemnly. "I guess saying sorry just doesn't cut it for me"

Turning to Hiccup and Astrid, he said "Now you know why I couldn't ask him for a favor like that. I won't do anything for him. I can't do anything for him."

"I'm sorry dad…" Hiccup said softly "I had no idea"

"No one did, that was the point." Stoick grimly replied. "The group and I wanted the history of that island to be forgotten. Even the survivors wanted to forget everything.

They all let go of their traditions and tales, except for one woman, can't remember her name or nothing, but she told us all, that she would never forget the day that they were killed." Stoick continued saying. "We wanted the story to die with us, but it looks like it will live on in another generation with you."

Hiccup almost sighed with relief when the silence set in after story; it seemed to be the only thing that was comfortable at that point.

After a while in the silence Hiccup decided to say "I still have to help that Night Fury though…"

Stoick looked at him and said "I can't openly direct it to Strogg without defying him, but whatever you choose to do, I will support you."

"Thanks dad, I know you will." Hiccup said gratefully, "I just don't know what that is just yet."

"I might have an idea" Astrid spoke up. It was the first time she spoke since Stoick returned to the ship.

"What's that Astrid?" Stoick asked, a little curious at the sound of an idea.

"Well, he may know you," Astrid said, gesturing to Stoick "but he doesn't know anything about Hiccup. All he knows of him is that he's small and skinny, but he is the victor over the duel with the Green Death."

"Yes and so does everyone else" Hiccup cynically responded.

"Exactly, so when the great Hiccup asks the Chief of Thariin a favor, he will almost be bound to it because everyone will know that you went to him for help!" Astrid exclaimed excitedly.

"Thor's beard…she may be right Hiccup!" Stoick exclaimed, seeing Astrid's plan. "You have more influence than I ever will!"

"But not everyone will hear me ask him." Hiccup said objectively.

"Oh yes they will," Astrid said grinning "because everyone is going to see the supposed execution of a Night Fury tomorrow."

* * *

The sun beat down on Ukiah as he started to regain consciousness. His head was throbbing as if a hammer was pounding an anvil.

As he struggled to get himself up, his eyes fought to open themselves while his right hand holding the back of his head.

He tried to look around which only brought a lightning bolt of pain down his neck through his back.

Falling back down onto a stone floor, he rested for another minute.

"Wha-what happened?" He groaned painfully to himself.

He tried to cast his mind onto the last memory he had. It was night, and he was running…from what? What was he running from?

"Well lookie here," A voice rang out. It sounded as if it came from a distance away. "It looks like our hunter here has finally decided to wake up!"

"Who knows I'm a hunter?" Ukiah wondered as he tried a second time to raise his head.

"Did you hear about him?" another voice said "He gave us the slip when we were after him. Sneaky guy was on the roofs the entire time we were scouring the market place."

"Roofs? Oh roofs!" Ukiah thought, putting the puzzle together. "That's right; I was running on the roofs to hide. I was hiding from…the guards!"

Ukiah's head snapped up as he finished his thought, which sent another jolt of pain down his back.

Fighting to not fall back down again, Ukiah knelt on one knee to brace himself with the only foot he was able to set flatly on the ground.

"Gah¸ where am I?" Ukiah asked as loud as he could, looking around as fast as his body would let him.

"Welcome to the Thariin Arena hunter," a guard said with pride, "the most feared place for people and dragons alike."

Another jolt of pain ran through Ukiah's body as his head snapped up again and his eyes finally opening up.

It was true! Ukiah found himself in the middle of the ring staring at the smooth stone walls all around him.

"No, I can't be here…" Ukiah whispered in disbelief.

But, as sure as the sun was sitting at high noon, he was there. Ukiah, slowly getting his balance back, surveyed his new surroundings.

With a 20 foot high, almost polished stone wall that made up the circle around him, and a chain-like net above him, the only way out was through a heavy metal gate on the south end of the circle. The release for the gate was a lever, and it was 10 feet back from the gate itself. He also saw a number of gates within the wall itself.

"Must be the cages for the dragons" Ukiah muttered.

On the east side of the arena, there was a single door which next to it was a table with all sorts of weapons displayed on it.

"The door for the prisoners cages…" Ukiah informed himself.

"Better shake it off hunter," one of the guards said from on top of the ring "your fight begins today when the sun begins to set!"

"I'm already fighting a dragon!" Ukiah said in an outrage, ignoring the pain that was shooting through his head now.

"Boy your quick!" the guard said smugly "The dragon's still fresh too! We caught it the same night we got you."

Thinking about this, Ukiah then asked "what dragon is it? A Nightmare?"

"Now then, that would be giving you an advantage now wouldn't it? What makes you so special to have a knowledge of what you fight beforehand?" The guard said teasingly.

Realizing that it was useless to argue with the bored guards, Ukiah walked very slowly to the table arrayed with the different weapons laid out on it.

Upon arriving at the table, he saw not only a surplus of shields, axes, and hammers. He also saw his own collection of weapons on it as well.

Comforted that he would at least be fighting with weapons that he's had, he picked up and inspected his dagger and crossbow.

Finding them basically in the same condition he last remembered them in, minus the arrow being un-notched from his crossbow, he set them back on the table.

Suddenly, hearing the gate open, Ukiah turned slowly around to see two guards walk in. One was carrying a pot and bucket of water, while the other one carried a giant hammer.

"Get it while it's hot…it tastes better." Grumbled the guard, setting down the pot and bucket on the ground next to the table.

Ukiah didn't say anything. He just stared at the guards, trying to make them uncomfortable on their own grounds.

Realizing that Ukiah wouldn't say anything, the guards began to walk out of the arena.

Ukiah had a sudden urge to make a dash for it, running in between the guards to throw off their balance. But looking on top of the gate, he saw 2 other guards almost ready for him to make that very move. On top of that, he had barely made it to the tables walking.

Giving up on the idea of escaping, Ukiah turned to the pot that was on the ground. It was a mess of carrots, onions, fish meat, and potatoes in a gravy-like mix. It smelt alright, but of course Ukiah remembered that he was a prisoner, and wasn't going to receive anything decent.

Picking up a different dagger on the table to use it to spoon in the food, Ukiah swallowed the mess that was in the pot, trying to eat it all before the taste would set in.

Finishing the food, Ukiah threw the pot down.

Just from the taste, he could tell that the food was old. Beginning to gag, he dropped down onto his knees and dropped his head in the bucket and swallowed as much as he could to drown out the taste before needing to come up for air.

Gulping a few deep breaths of air, Ukiah looked around and saw some of the guards laughing at him, while a few others stood by, silently watching.

Even with the old food in him, Ukiah could feel more energy returning to him, which allowed him to stand up a lot faster without getting light headed.

The pain had almost disappeared at this point and now Ukiah's only concern was to rest and recover from the blow he took last night.

Sitting himself against the wall where the shade was starting to form, Ukiah observed the arena in a little more detail.

The arena itself was a wreck! It looked like someone took fire to it and then threw extra flame to it just because. It was a catastrophe! Charcoal and ash were everywhere, even in the ring. It was amazing that the walls were as polished as they were in this situation.

After studying the arena and the guard's patrol routes, Ukiah finally drifted off into a resting sleep, but with one eye open.

* * *

"Come on Hiccup! You can't be late for this!" Astrid said urgently, jogging up the path that led to the arena.

"I know Astrid, but even if we walk we will get there in time!" Hiccup said, a little short of breath. "I haven't seen anyone walk up this way before us anyways."

"But you need to be ready now so that nothing will interrupt you when you make your request! Besides, people are starting to make their way up here now!" Astrid said impatiently, pointing to a crowd of people starting to head up the path.

"I know I know…" Hiccup said agreeing with Astrid, "I just hope this plan works…"

"If not, it will buy us more time to be able to get the Night Fury free." Astrid said reassuringly. "You'll be able to explain why the Night Fury means so much to you to the rest of the village! You'll have numbers on your side."

This made Hiccup relax a little. "It's true" He thought, "me just announcing who I am will give me a few allies."

Making their way to the entrance, one of the guards posted there stopped them.

"Where are your parents?" asked a guard rigidly.

"We're with Stoick the Vast" Astrid declared.

"And we are guests of honor to Strogg the Stone." Hiccup threw in, knowing that they were invited.

The guard quickly changed his expression in realizing who the teenager was, "I'm sorry that I've bothered you Hiccup! Please, just walk on in; your seats are on the north end of the arena. It's the end with the only chairs in the entire arena now" He said looking over the burned arena.

Forgiving and thanking the guard they walked in without any more disruptions.

Stoick wasn't with them because he was going to go with Strogg. They wanted this plan to appear to be Hiccup's as much as possible.

"There!" Astrid said pointing to a spot that was near and above the gate that led to the entrance. "We'll have you announce it from there!"

Hiccup inspecting the spot Astrid designated, agreed that it would be best to do it from there. With the seats for the Chief and the guests of honor almost exactly opposite from them, they would be noticed and heard loud and clear.

"Now we just have to wait!" Astrid said excitedly, walking closer to the edge.

Smiling, Hiccup followed her to the edge as well, trying to make eye contact when he got there. But when he got next to her, no matter how hard he tried to get her attention, she just stared down into the ring below, as if in a trance.

"Astrid? Hello Astrid? What's up?" Hiccup asked, waving his hand in front of her.

Finally breaking out of her trance, Astrid looked at Hiccup and then slowly raising her hand, pointed to the east side of the arena.

Hiccup following where she was pointing; finally saw what Astrid was staring at silently. It was a person sitting against the stone wall, it was Ukiah.

* * *

"I'm glad that you were able to join me at the arena" Strogg said, as he and Stoick were walking up a separate path to the arena that was designated only for the chief or guests of honor. "I hope that Astrid and your son, Hiccup can join us soon."

"They made no promises, they said they were going to the market one more time to get a sword, then they were going to practice with them. They said it was a different looking sword, one that was curved." Stoick lied.

"Ah! I know what you're talking about, I have one myself. I don't really like it, but it's good for show." Strogg replied "but it's good that your young ones realize the importance of having a knowledge of a blade or axe. The youth here are lazy; only wanting to run their parent's stalls, not increase their skills as a Viking." Strogg said with disappointment in his voice. "I still hope they come though."

"Aye, me too, but they are old enough to make their own choices, so I let them be." Stoick threw in.

"Of course! That is good that even so young they can make decisions themselves." Strogg reaffirmed.

As they entered in through the archway, three men with decorated shields and war axes walked up to Strogg.

"Stoick, I'd like you to meet my elite dragon champions!" Strogg boomed with pride. "Ugo, Harze, and Malke. All of them have defeated at least one of all the known dragons, from the Green Death and a Night Fury."

Stoick made greetings with each one, having a small word with them about their stories.

"They'll be joining us in the honored guest section" Strogg said beginning to walk through the hallway "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, I'm the guest here." Stoick said through a fake smile.

Stopping at a door, Strogg began to ask the captain of the arena if everything was ready.

"Why are we stopping?" Stoick asked.

I'm waiting for the guards to announce that I am here. The fight officially starts when I sit on my chair." Strogg replied.

"Ahh, I see…" Stoick said.

"Captain, let's begin shall we?" Strogg soundly said.

"Yes my chief!" the captain responded.

* * *

"Vikings of Thariin, Strogg the Stone, the Chief of Thariin!" a voice boomed.

Ukiah up until this point was calm and ready for whatever came. He had come up with a plan to be as defiant as possible to Strogg. Even if he died, he won't give any type of satisfaction to him for anything. Now with everyone staring at him and the event about to begin, Ukiah was beginning to fill a little nervous

The crowd cheered as a giant of a Viking and four slightly smaller ones walked in the arena above the north end of the ring.

"Accompanied by the three Champions of Thariin: Ugo, Harze, and Malke." The voice followed up with.

The crowd roared with approval!

"Also introducing, Stoick the Vast! Chief of Berk!" the voice boomed again.

Another cheer rang out among the crowd.

"Great, I get a special guest to watch me die." Ukiah huffed "Maybe I'll be remembered by him."

The announcer went off a bit on how great Thariin was and such. As he did, Ukiah began to prepare himself.

Beginning to run a checklist over himself. His head was still hurting a little bit, the back pain was gone, and the nasty taste of the food had disappeared, probably because he had drank two whole buckets of water. Overall, Ukiah was doing pretty good considering.

He still hadn't put on his weapons yet; one of the instructions for the contender was that he selected his weapons right before the fight started.

Then the announcer said Ukiah's name, bringing him out of his trance. "Ukiah of Fallis Woods; has been charged with 3 years of poaching on the chiefs land, fleeing from guards, destruction of public and private property, also with…." The announcer went on.

"Great, tell all the lies to everyone here. Perfect." Ukiah muttered.

"The dragon, located in the center cage," The announcer continued.

"Center cage huh?" Ukiah thought, focusing in on the massive wood and metal gate. "Definitely a Nightmare." he confirmed, by judging the size of the gate.

"It is the dragon that attacked Thariin Village last night. It is the Night Fury!" the announcer yelled in his best tone to make everyone feel the excitement.

"WHAT!" Ukiah screamed in his head. "It can't be…No it couldn't be, It's not Kobaalt."

Ukiah wanted to stab everyone that he saw cheering. They were pitting him against his only friend!

"No. I won't do it." Ukiah stated firmly in his head "I will not kill Kobaalt. I'll kill myself before I do such a thing"

"Chief Strogg the Stone, shall we commence with the fight?" the announcer asked.

With a wave of his hand, Strogg allowed the fight to proceed.

"Wait!" a voice shouted from the south end of the arena.

All heads, including Ukiah's, turned to look. Ukiah couldn't believe it! It was the boy who he had sold the headband to!

"Don't stick up for me kid…it's not worth it…" Ukiah grimly said to himself.

"I am Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the III. I have a request to make of Chief Strogg the Stone." Hiccup yelled loudly.

Ukiah almost fell on his back! "This is Hiccup…the dragon killer?" Ukiah puzzled over. "The kid almost killed himself tripping over one of my pelts!"

"What is the meaning of this?" thundered Strogg, who was standing up from his chair.

Hiccup, doing his best to maintain his composure continued "I wish to discuss the life of the Night Fury. I ask you to release it to me."

"You have no standing here!" Strogg roared back! Then turning to Stoick asked "Are you allowing you son to do this?"

"He's making his own choice; it has nothing to do with me." Stoick calmly replied acting confused at the interruption.

"Strogg the Stone, I have as much 'standing' as anyone here." Hiccup stated "You see, it wasn't just me who killed the Green Death; I had a friend with me the entire time. And that friend's name is Toothless the Night Fury!"

"And so that gives you the right to own all the Night Furies in the world?" Strogg roared back.

"Not at all, I'm asking you as a favor to release the Night Fury to me, a dragon trainer." Hiccup stated.

By this time the crowd was starting to shout different kinds of things. It was obvious that Hiccup had some supporters.

"I have one problem with your request Hiccup." Strogg said menacingly, knowing that the crowd was starting to favor Hiccup. "I'll give you your Night Fury, after he kills a criminal of mine! That is the only thing that I will agree to! Take it or leave it."

Hiccup's heart sank as he looked at Ukiah. He was going to try to get Ukiah as well, saying that he would take the criminal off of his hands. But Strogg gave him an ultimatum, and he was going to have to take it. Then an idea came to his mind.

"I'll take the winner." Hiccup said out loud "If the dragon wins, I'll take it. If the criminal wins, I get him as collateral."

"Deal" Strogg said quickly, ending any future chances of debate. Then turning to Ukiah, he growled "Get your gear, boy, I want you to kill this dragon."


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok So I just updated this chapter to say a few things:**

**1) Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites! I'm glad the story is enjoyable**

**2) Watching the Dragons of Berk TV show, I am blown away by the fact that my story is very, VERY close to the same! As a forewarning, I did not get my story from Dragons show. It is 100% from my mind onto paper. I have a few more chapters ready, but just waiting to release them. **

**So, yes! If you have questions about my story, go ahead and PM me or post it in the reviews.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7

Ukiah's head was spinning, and not from the blow he took last night. It was from the fact that he met Hiccup without knowing it and on top of that, he had an interest in Kobaalt, wanting to save him. Ukiah was grateful that someone was willing to stick their neck out for Kobaalt, he was going to need help when this day was over.

With that thought, Ukiah's mind was made up. "I must die to save Kobaalt. Not only will it save him, it'll be a spit in the face to Strogg the murderer." He thought resolutely to himself.

Looking at Strogg after being ordered to get his weapons, he so badly wanted to disgrace him in any way he could, at which an opportunity was presenting itself.

Spinning around to the table, Ukiah started to make his way to his gear.

Hiccup was staring at Ukiah; he had no idea what he was going to do. "I'm so sorry Ukiah, I'm so sorry." He whispered. He couldn't help but feel the same helpless feeling, when he watched Toothless crash into the tail of the Green Death while he was on him. There was nothing he could do.

Astrid was just as torn as Hiccup was. All she could do was stand next to Hiccup and support him in his decision. "Regardless, we get to save somebody, but on the same coin, we lose someone also." She thought to herself. It was tearing at her so bad, that the only way she could release some of the pressure building inside of her, was gripping the handle of her axe.

"I feel like I sent someone to the executioner." Hiccup said softly "I feel so…empty."

"I know, I feel it too" Astrid replied sadly "but there was nothing else you could do, what you did was right, we couldn't get both of them even if we had all the money in the world."

Hiccup, almost not hearing Astrid, continued to stare at Ukiah who reached the table at this point.

Upon arriving at the table, Ukiah slowly picked up his dagger and lifted it up to reflect the sunset in the sky, which made it look like fire was built in his blade. This was it, this was the weapon he was going to use to end his life.

Sheathing it and strapping it to his arm, he reached for a double spear that was resting next to his quiver. Not like the ones he had at his cave, but at this point it didn't matter. Sliding it smoothly into one of his holes in the back of his vest, he proceeded to strap the quiver to his leg.

The process was killing Strogg, as he sat there watching Ukiah gather his gear. "Hurry it up!" Strogg mumbled to himself, sliding down in his chair in a bored manner. Truth was, he wasn't even bored. He was furious with the event that just took place.

"Hiccup wanting to take what I own, the nerve of the pup, I'll never forget this" He thought so loud to himself that he checked to see if Stoick had heard him.

Ukiah finishing strapping his quiver on looked at Strogg. After eyeing him for a few seconds, grabbed a bucket half full of water, and walked to pile of burned lumber.

"Hurry it up!" Strogg shouted "or I'll have the gate opened now!"

That went sour with the crowd real fast as they booed and shouted at Strogg.

Defeated by his own people, Strogg slowly relaxed himself, but not releasing the anger building inside of him.

Ukiah proceeded to stomp on the charcoal pieces, making it into a fine dust, and then went on to pour the water in the bucket over it. After mixing the water with the dust, Ukiah picked up a large amount of the black paste and wiped it across his face at a diagonal, high left to low right.

Standing up, and turning to Strogg, Ukiah silently picked up his crossbow and notched it without looking at it and marched to the center gate.

What the crowd did not know was that the war paint was a statement to Strogg, not just a fun thing to do.

Stoick stood up after that. "Strogg, I'm afraid I can't be here, I need to leave." Stoick said firmly.

Strogg, looking like he was taken back, slowly looked at Stoick saying "Yes, I think that would be best."

Without saying a word, Stoick ran out of the arena the way he came, right through the back archway.

Ukiah staring at the gate, knowing Kobaalt was back there, kneeled down on one knee getting his crossbow in a ready to fire position and said the words everyone was waiting to hear: "Open it."

* * *

The crowd exploded into shouting and cheering that took both Hiccup and Astrid off guard. The giant beam acting as a bolt for the gate started to slide to the right. Hiccup and Astrid leaned forward to make sure they wouldn't miss anything.

BANG! The gate shot open as a black arrow of a dragon flew out and tried to get through the chain net set over the ring.

Realizing it was useless to fight against the chains, Kobaalt released a fireball at a burned stand that a crowd of people barely got out of the way of.

Not satisfied with the fireball burning what was left of the stand, Kobaalt turned his attention to the ring he was in, to which he finally noticed a familiar face in the middle of the ring. Almost in disbelief, Kobaalt stopped struggling against the chain net and smoothly dropped onto the floor.

Ukiah watching Kobaalt struggle broke his heart. He was standing up at this point while holding the butt of the crossbow in his right hand.

When he saw that Kobaalt noticed him, he prayed for the first time that Kobaalt would send a fireball at him, just to end the scene. But as he had suspected, Kobaalt roared with almost happiness and seemed to smile.

Running to Ukiah, Kobaalt ran his head against Ukiah's chest and growled with satisfaction, rubbing his head against Ukiah.

The crowd was in a profound silence, only to hear the occasional "what's he doing?" or "what's going on?"

Hiccup was totally in shock. All this time, he thought he was the first and only to even befriend a Night Fury. He looked at Astrid who was looking just as surprised, maybe even more so.

Ukiah after rubbing his friend's head began to weep.

Kobaalt looked into his eyes as if to wonder why he was doing so.

"What is this? Kill it!" Strogg said yelling in an outrage while standing up from his chair.

Turning his back to Kobaalt and facing Strogg with hatred and tears in his eyes, Ukiah roared back: "This is Kobaalt, Strogg, and he's my only friend. I'm not going to have you take away that which means everything to me again. You took my family, my friends, even my history! I'm not going to give you what you want this time, even if it means that I must die!"

Saying this, Ukiah slung his crossbow over his back and drew his dagger. Not wanting to look at Kobaalt when doing this, he raised his dagger ready to be thrust into his heart.

Just as he was about to do so, Ukiah was suddenly hit in the back, sending him flying.

After rolling on the ground, Ukiah looked up to see that Kobaalt was growling at him.

"Kobaalt! No! I have to do this; it's the only way you can survive!" Ukiah screamed, picking himself up and running for his dagger.

Kobaalt was quicker and ran into Ukiah, sending him flying again for a second time. Ukiah stopped and stared at Kobaalt.

"Please…" Ukiah pled "you have to let me do this…"

Almost as if Kobaalt understood, looked past Ukiah and glared at Strogg.

Ukiah, turning to look in the same direction that Kobaalt was looking at, saw exactly what he was meaning.

"If I can't kill you or myself, "Ukiah said loud enough for everyone to hear "We'll have to kill the person who is responsible for this…"

Turing to face Strogg again, Ukiah drew his crossbow and took aim at Strogg's heart.

Strogg seeing what was going on right before Ukiah drew a bead on him shifted quickly to the right, having the arrow that was shot from Ukiah's crossbow hitting his shoulder and pinning him to his chair.

"GET HIM!" Shouted Strogg in pain, as his right hand put pressure on his shoulder "I want them alive!"

At the same time, guards rushed into the ring brandishing their weapons.

The people at this point were running out of the arena in a panic, screaming at the top of their lungs as if the guards were after them!

Hiccup and Astrid were trying to maneuver to the edge of the ring to see if they could help Ukiah and Kobaalt at all. The guards yelling and the villagers screaming just added to the pandemonium that they were in.

"Keep close!" Hiccup yelled to Astrid "We've got to see if we can help them!"

"I know that!" Astrid yelled in reply a little annoyed.

Ukiah was unloading arrows at a rate he never thought was possible, and every arrow made its mark. He and Kobaalt were fighting back to back with the table turned over for a little bit of a cover.

Soon the guards were too close to Ukiah for him to use his crossbow, to which he dropped it and drew his dagger. The closest guard was charging Ukiah, ready to tackle him. Ukiah quickly sidestepped the flying Viking, and sliced his stomach in one smooth motion. The guard quickly dropped in a huddled position. The next guard had enough time to grab Ukiah's left arm, to which Ukiah brought his dagger around into the guard's chest. The guard also followed the first one to the ground, this time dead.

Kobaalt was busy as well; swinging his tail, he swept a number of guards off their feet and then head butting one that was trying to jump on him. Shifting his body to the left, Kobaalt shot out his wing, pounding two guards in the face, dropping them instantly. Suddenly, Kobaalt felt a weight dropped on his back. A guard had actually got on Kobaalt and was holding on for dear life.

Kobaalt instantly began rolling on the ground, bending his head to try and get the bold Viking off his back. After the third roll, the Viking had enough and let go, to which Kobaalt quickly grabbed him with his mouth and threw the guard into a few others. Swinging his tail again, making contact with a few more guards, Kobaalt shot a fireball into a crowd of guards, instantly removing them from the fight.

Ukiah was in the middle of doing a spin around one guard; flipping his dagger in his hand, reversing his grip on it, he brought it down into his attackers back. He had scarcely finished pulling his dagger out when another guard grabbed him from behind and began to choke him out. While trying to pry the arm away from his throat, Ukiah dug his dagger into the leg of his attacker, who promptly let go of Ukiah and fell onto his knees. Ukiah, not wasting a second, flipped his dagger in his hand again and spun around; bringing the dagger full swing across the guard's neck.

Hiccup and Astrid were amazed as they watched the two take on, what seemed to them to be an army.

"Should we help them?" Astrid asked.

"No, we would just be in the way, besides, they might consider us guards!" Hiccup replied

"Hmph" Astrid said "speak for yourself when you say that we might be in their way!"

Hiccup smiling said "Yeah, I usually do refer to myself most the time."

"Come on, we can at least open the gate for them" Astrid said starting to move towards the gate entrance.

Agreeing with her plan, Hiccup followed Astrid, moving quickly but quietly to the release, which was completely un-guarded at this point.

Kobaalt just finished head-butting a guard when three guards came out of nowhere and tackled him down to the ground. Roaring in fury, he tried to roll, claw, and bite to get the three off. But whatever he did, it didn't seem to work, and soon found more guards on him. Roaring and still trying to shake the guards that were on him, Kobaalt was finally pinned to the ground.

Ukiah seeing that Kobaalt was in trouble, finished off a guard by slashing his chest and then grabbing the guard's head with his open hand, bringing it down into his knee. Spinning around to rush the guards on Kobaalt, he was suddenly hit by a force that sent him sprawling onto the ground. Completely stunned by the hit, Ukiah looked for his attacker.

It was one of the champions, Harze, who had just hit Ukiah with the blunt side of his axe.

Having the dagger quickly removed from Ukiah's hand, he found himself being dragged by two guards into the doorway that led to the prisoner's cages.

Fighting to free himself, Ukiah could only helplessly watch as the guards on Kobaalt began to tie him down to the ground with ropes. Then being dragged into a dark hallway, the door shut, and Ukiah and Kobaalt were once again separated.

* * *

Hiccup and Astrid looked into the ring through the gate with horror on their faces. Just a minute ago the two were looking like they would win against the army. Now it was looking like both of them would never see the next day.

Hiccup began to look for Strogg, to try and remind him of the promise that he made. But that thought was completely ruled out quickly in his head. The villagers were gone so he had no supporters, there were dead guards on the ground from both Ukiah and Kobaalt, and Strogg's favorite event was ruined. There was going to be no chance for Hiccup to get anything out of this.

Strogg was still sitting in his chair watching the whole thing unfold. By this time he was unpinned to the chair by the arrow, and was receiving attention to his shoulder as he sat there.

"Harze!" Strogg shouted.

"Yes my chief!" replied Harze looking up from the arena.

"I give you the honor of killing the Night Fury. Make it suffer." Strogg said darkly.

"It will be my privilege" Replied Harze smiling evilly, turning towards Kobaalt.

Guards were already carrying the wounded and dead out of the ring, leaving Harze completely unattended and alone with Kobaalt.

Slowly walking around the tied down dragon, Harze whispered "now then, what should we do with you, oh powerful Night Fury?" walking around Kobaalt a few times, he said "I think we'll go with the classic execution, an axe to the head."

Kobaalt closed his eyes, wondering where Ukiah was at, not caring about the peril he was facing.

* * *

Ukiah was still struggling against the two guards who were dragging him through the dark, damp hallway.

"Quit moving around!" one guard said gruffly, checking his grip on Ukiah's arm.

"No, I can't stop! Kobaalt is still out there!" Ukiah thought frantically.

Then something caught his attention to his right. It was a dagger in the belt of the guard holding his right arm. It was smaller than the one he had, but a dagger was a dagger.

Pretending to give in, Ukiah let himself be dragged a few more feet. Then without any type of warning, he pushed with his legs against the floor, projecting himself to where he was walking backwards with the guards. Before they knew what he was doing, Ukiah kicked the guard to his right behind the knee cap, causing him to buckle and fall.

The sudden change in weight caused the guard on the left to stumble a little bit, grabbing Ukiah with two hands instead of just the one.

In one smooth motion Ukiah, lying in an awkward position because of one guard letting go and the other holding on, grabbed the dagger in the belt and using the guard holding onto him as leverage, pulled himself up and thrust the dagger into the guard who was still standing.

The guard dropped with only a small groan. The other guard realizing what had happened took off running down the hall.

Ukiah seeing the fleeing guard threw the knife into his back, which caused the guard to shortly join his companion on the ground.

Ukiah turning around and running the way he came, withdrew his spear that was still miraculously still attached to his back.

Taking a turn in the hall, Ukiah saw the door that he was dragged through. "Hold on buddy, I'm coming!" Ukiah told himself quietly, not wanting to let anyone who may be out there know of his position "Please be ok."

Harze at this point was standing in front of Kobaalt, lifting his axe high above his head, ready to deal a single death blow to Kobaalt.

The door suddenly swung open, and Ukiah seeing Harze's position roared in anger. Harze quickly turned to see what was going on just in time to see a spear fly out of Ukiah's hand and land in his left shoulder causing Harze to yell in pain and to drop the axe.

Ukiah utilizing this moment, grabbed an axe from a fallen guard and charged Harze, swinging the axe across Harze's left side. Harze howled in pain as he was sent flying.

The inertia of the swing surprised Ukiah, as the axe took him for another spin. Seeing an advantage to this, Ukiah spun around one more time and then released the axe from his hands towards Harze. His skill in throwing axe's was significantly less than throwing daggers, because it was the handle of the axe that made contact with Harze, not the blade.

Knocking Harze down, Ukiah ran to the spot where he lost his dagger. Quickly finding it, Ukiah bounded for Kobaalt, still tied down but was fighting the ropes because of the sudden turn of events.

Ukiah went to work at cutting the ropes as fast as he could, careful not to accidently hit Kobaalt who was moving furiously.

Harze on the other hand, braced himself on his knee and pulled the spear out of his shoulder. Then, looking at Ukiah and seeing what he was doing, grabbed his axe and ignored the pain that was shooting through his side. Roaring in anger, Harze charged Ukiah.

Ukiah stopped cutting the ropes and turned to see the wounded champion running right at him. Preparing to do another side step slash, Ukiah readied his dagger, and was planning on ending Harze's life.

Harze had seen Ukiah side step a few guards, all of which had fallen to him. Not willing to make the same mistake as them, Harze swung his axe horizontally, but kept on going, doing a complete spin.

Ukiah was not prepared for such a move and after he side stepped the first swing, he saw the axe coming around again at an incredible speed. Completely forgetting to finish off Harze, Ukiah dropped himself to the ground just in time as the axe cut Ukiah's arm, and grazing his face.

Trying to roll out of the way, Ukiah was stopped by a foot stepping on his chest. Looking up, he saw Harze's face, twisted with pain and anger, while he slowly lifted his axe over his head.

Ukiah knew that his life was over in a few seconds.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm still a little peeved that my story is pretty similar to the "Dragons: Riders of Berk" show, again I promise that what I am going to post from here on out is 100% my idea and NOT Dragons (I do not own Dragons in any possible way, even a smudging) Also, my story will not involve anything that may happen in the show. Such as a new character, or someone died. That Canon will not be accepted in "The Second Night Fury" **

**Please don't think I hate Dragons, I love it! I'm just shocked that it's very similar to my story.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 8

Ukiah stared helplessly at the axe raised above Harze's head. He knew it was the end of him and whispered the only thing that he could think of in those few seconds: "God's protect Kobaalt."

Then, just as Harze was about to bring his axe down on Ukiah, another axe as if out of nowhere, flew right into Harze's axe handle, splintering the handle into two main pieces.

Hazre with pain, anger, and now shock in his face looked around to see who threw the axe.

It was Astrid, who was now running towards Harze, who was picking up a hammer from the ground and threw it at him, making contact with his bleeding shoulder.

Howling in pain, Harze stepped back giving Ukiah a chance to grab his dagger and slice the back of Harze's leg.

Falling down onto one knee, Harze looked at Ukiah with anger burning in his eyes.

"You…you are the reason why we champions exist, you are a bane of anything good in this world! You and your devil dragon! Defying anything with order or justice!" hissed Harze.

"That may be true for you, but I'm really a bane to your so called glory!" Ukiah spat back "Killing people and dragons, not to protect or defend, just for the sake of killing! You and your champion friends are just like Strogg…murderers who only delight to see others experience death. Well, Harze, how do you like it when someone sends you to death?" Ukiah yelled raising his dagger and then bringing it down in between Harze's collar bone and neck.

With a load groan, Harze fell backwards dead. Ukiah continued to stand over him, taking big heavy breaths.

After a few seconds, a noise grabbed his attention. Turning around he saw Astrid, who had just picked up her axe; Hiccup, and Kobaalt; standing next to each other staring at Ukiah. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Ukiah relaxed.

Then to break the silence Hiccup said "I finished cutting your friend loose while you were busy with…him" pointing to Harze.

"Thank you…for that and that you were willing to stick your neck out to save Kobaalt. Thank you" Ukiah responded softly.

Looking down, Ukiah saw his crossbow. Picking it up and slinging it onto his back, he quickly reflected on the moments that had just happened. He and Kobaalt had just won an impossible victory, meant to be impossible; and it couldn't have been done without an insane amount of luck, and the friends who were standing in front of him. Ukiah smiled for the first time since he's been in the arena.

* * *

Strogg up to this point held back the other two champions and the remaining guards because he thought that Harze would be more than enough for Ukiah and the dragon. He would have been right too if Astrid hadn't shown up!

After watching the death of Harze, he ordered the rest of his men to capture all of them.

"I want them all alive! If you kill one of them you will be used in his place!" Strogg roared in a tone that few have ever lived to hear.

"Yes my chief!" a unified voice rang out, mostly out of fear.

Turning her attention back to the gate she had opened, Astrid yelled "Quick! Through the gate before they close it!"

Rushing through the exit, it didn't take long before the group was running through the main archway and heading down the path with the guards hot on their heels.

"Where's your dad?" Astrid frantically yelled at Hiccup

"I don't know! I thought he was with Strogg all this time, but I didn't see him when we were in the arena!" Hiccup replied angrily.

"Not the time to be worried about that; whole new group of guards heading up our way!" Ukiah yelled, gesturing to a small crowd of Vikings marching up the path.

Preparing for another big fight, both Ukiah and Hiccup brandished their daggers; Astrid drew her battle-axe; while Kobaalt flew into the air.

"Wait, hold on a minute…I think…that's…dad!" Hiccup yelled in surprise "It is! It's my dad!"

Back in the arena, when Stoick saw the war paint on Ukiah's face, he went into a flash back. Nearly 20 years ago, on a forgotten island. He and his fellow Viking raiders were charging against a line of Viking warriors, all having the same black war paint at a diagonal on their faces.

Just from seeing the war paint Stoick knew that Ukiah was a decedent from the survivors of that tribe, and to try make up for what he had helped do, he ran back to the ship to get the crew.

The entire trip, Stoick was trying not to offend Strogg in anyway, but seeing Ukiah in the ring was the final straw. Arming most of his crew, he left the very minimum men required to operate the ship. While he and the rest were going to take the arena by force, the others on the ship were going to get it ready to go as soon as they got on.

"Hiccup is that you?" thundered Stoick.

"Yes! We need to get out of here, we're being chased!" Hiccup yelled desperately.

"Run to the ship! We'll hold them off for a minute." Stoick ordered.

"If I may, I have a solution that wouldn't require that" Ukiah interrupted, stopping in front of Stoick.

"No, you heard me; we'll hold them off while you three run to the ship!"

"Four, there are four of us" said Ukiah, pointing up to Kobaalt hovering above them. "I was going to say that he could do a better job than you without getting close!"

"The dragon!? What's he doing here?" Stoick said, staring up at Kobaalt.

As if it was planned from the beginning, Kobaalt turned and fired a fireball into the pursuing crowd of guards, shortly following up with two more fireballs on the path, creating a wall of fire that greatly impeded the progress of the pursuers.

"Perhaps, that was a better idea." Stoick said a little defeated. "Now, RUN!"

The entire group began to sprint to the ship which was still a good 15 minute run. On the way, Stoick told Hiccup, Astrid, and Ukiah the plan: "As soon as we all get on that ship, it'll be ready to sail to Berk."

"Berk!" Ukiah thought a little alarmed at this. He was planning on splitting off from the group when they got on the ship. He didn't want them to be hunted down because of him! "Well I guess I don't really have a choice. If I stay here, even in my little cave, that'll almost be suicide! Plus, their actions in helping me escape is just like telling Strogg in the face that they were going to defy him. I guess my best bet is to go with them." looking up at Kobaalt, who was flying above him, whispered "I hope you're ok with that."

The guards and the two champions finally broke through the wall of fire. Seeing Stoick's group about a half mile ahead, and making their way to the docks; putting two and two together, it wasn't long before they figured out what Stoick's group was doing and went sprinting to catch up with them.

Ukiah at this point was worn out. After being chased through the local streets, being knocked out, trying to kill himself, fighting an entire division of guards, getting hit with an axe, escaping a dungeon, fighting a Champion of Thariin, and then being chased AGAIN through local streets; he was really feeling it all catch up to him, and it was beginning to show. His pace was getting significantly slower than the others and his breaths were a lot shorter.

"Ukiah, what's wrong?" Astrid asked noticing him starting to lag behind.

"It's nothing, just getting, agh, a little tired." Ukiah huffed breathlessly. "I'll be alright."

"Come on" urged Stoick "only a little bit further and we'll be in the docks!"

With this new push; Ukiah forced his legs into overtime, which helped his pace increase a little bit.

Upon arriving at the docks, Ukiah collapsed onto his hands and knees, gasping for air. His body was begging for just a few moments of rest.

"Ukiah! We've got to keep moving! You're almost there!" Stoick yelled

Ukiah looked up and saw Hiccup run up to him and then help him to his feet.

"I'll run with you." Hiccup said gently, and the two of them began to head down the dock that the ship was at. Astrid was just ahead of them, holding her axe at the ready, just in case a random guard might try to stop them.

The guards by now have entered the docks and spotted Hiccup and Ukiah very quickly; and then proceeded to chase them down, shouting that they found them.

Ukiah turned to see the guards closing in on them. "I'm slowing Hiccup down; I'm slowing down the entire crew!" Hiccup thought in alarm. Coming up with another one of his, off the cuff ideas, Ukiah looked at Hiccup and said "Thank you for helping me, but can you do one thing for me Hiccup?"

"Depends, I'm kind of busy at the moment" Hiccup said, a little sarcastically while supporting Ukiah's right side.

"Get the ship as close as you can to that dock" Ukiah said pointing to another dock parallel to the one the ship was stationed at "that's all I ask!"

Caught off guard by the request Ukiah had made, Hiccup felt himself being pushed forward. Turning around, he watched Ukiah turn and run down on another dock.

"Ukiah!" Hiccup yelled. There was nothing Hiccup could do because the guards were closing in on him as well. Running the fastest he could, Hiccup made a mad dash for the ship.

Suddenly an explosion went off behind him, and turning around Hiccup saw Kobaalt making a fly by.

The single explosion broke the dock that the Berk ship was attached to, becoming essentially an island in the harbor.

"Hiccup! Get on the ship!" Stoick called angrily.

Astrid grabbed Hiccup and said "Let's go! Ukiah's buying us time, don't waste it!"

At those words, Hiccup spun around and sprinted to the ship, actually running faster than Astrid!

Jumping on board, Hiccup yelled "bring the ship as close as you can to that dock over there! Ukiah's counting on us!"

Without questioning his son, Stoick ordered "Hard to port!" swinging the ship towards the other dock

Ukiah was running and loading a special arrow into his crossbow. Breathing a lot heavier and forcing him to keep moving and his body burning with fatigue as he grabbed the tail of the rope that was attached to the arrow.

He had meant to lead the guards after him, which went quite well when Kobaalt broke the other dock because it was the only way they would be able to go.

"Kobaalt, get out of here!" Ukiah screamed, making him light headed. "I'll be ok, just go! Do it for me!"

Kobaalt, understanding the tone in Ukiah's voice, roared and took off towards the sun setting into the sea.

Returning his focus to the tail of the rope, he began to wrap several coils around his left arm, until he heard a voice shout behind him.

"There's one of them, get him!" yelled Ugo, one of the champions, as he and the guards ran down the dock that Ukiah turned onto.

Turning his focus to the Berk ship, which was now moving dangerously close to the dock, Ukiah kept on running, trying to catch up to the ship.

Ukiah knew he was tired, but didn't realize how tired he was until he saw that the ship was moving faster than he could run!

The entire crew of the ship was yelling at him to hurry and jump on! Hiccup and Astrid were the loudest of them all.

Almost able to hear the guard's footsteps behind him, Ukiah aimed his crossbow at the mast of the ship and fired the loaded arrow.

Seeing it sink into the moist wood Ukiah relaxed, knowing that he was going to catch the ship. When suddenly he felt a sharp pain in the back of his leg, forcing Ukiah to fall forward onto his face. Turning around to see what had happened, he saw that it was a guard, who had just cut the back of Ukiah's upper calf.

A look of satisfaction was on the guard's face, which instantly transformed into horror when he saw Ukiah get jerked into the water.

The rope attached to the arrow that was buried into the mast of the ship, drew all the slack that was left in it.

Ukiah, knowing this would happen, still had his world turned around and upside down! Struggling to find the surface, Ukiah closed his eyes and tried to fight his way to where he thought was up.

Fighting the water for a few seconds, Ukiah suddenly felt himself being pulled at a much faster rate.

Feeling the tugging on his left arm, the same arm that was cut by Harze; Ukiah realized that it was a bad idea to wrap the rope around his hand that was on the same side that had a wound, feeling pain shoot through his arm with every pull!

Trying to grab the rope with his right hand to have his right side being pulled instead, Ukiah struggled against the current that was passing him due to the speed that he was travelling in!

Breaking the water and gasping for breath, Ukiah was hauled onto the deck of the ship. Ukiah slowly opened his eyes to see that the Stoick the Vast had single handedly pulled Ukiah out of the water.

"Set the sails to carry us like the speed of the wind!" Stoick ordered turning his attention away from Ukiah.

Astrid and Hiccup ran over and picked Ukiah up, removing the coil of rope that had drawn tightly over his arm.

"Are you all right Ukiah?" Astrid and Hiccup asked simultaneously.

Ukiah looking over himself and seeing that the slashed leg had soaked his boot with blood mixed with water, and then looking at his arm with the cut that was now a small gash; seeing that it had completely re-opened and was bleeding all over the left side of his body, replied with a sarcastic smile "I've been better."

Kind of walking and mostly carrying Ukiah to a crate, the two sat him down softly.

Looking up at Stoick who was busy giving orders, Ukiah silently thanked him for pulling him out of the water. Then feeling a sharp pain on his arm, Ukiah winced as he looked to see Astrid, trying her hardest to dry him off and to clean the all the blood without hurting him.

Hiccup was busy grabbing Ukiah's gear, unstrapping his quiver and his dagger. Then it hit Ukiah! After being slashed by the guard, and before being pulled into the water; Ukiah dropped his crossbow somewhere in between those two events. He had left his prized possession on the dock. Heartbroken, Ukiah let out a long groan, leaning back against the ship.

No sooner had he done this, a sailor yelled the words that Ukiah had learned to love.

"Night Fury!"

The crew stopped whatever they were doing and looked up to see Kobaalt, who had just landed in the middle of the ship, making way to Ukiah.

Almost whimpering, Kobaalt nuzzled against Ukiah's chest, as if he was re-assuring Ukiah that he would be ok.

Laughing softly, Ukiah raised his good arm and rested his hand on Kobaalt's head, whispering "Glad you made it too! It was all worth it then…" Then with the combination of severe fatigue, intense pain, and blood loss, the world began to black out to Ukiah; to which he later swore that it was death itself, visiting him.


	8. Chapter 8

**A special thanks to all those who follow, review, and favorite! Thank you for your support! The next few chapters may be slowER than the last few, but I hope it's still interesting! I posted this chapter because I had a good weekend of writing, which allowed me to get a bit done.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 9

Ukiah found himself standing in shallow water next to the shore of an island with the sun barely rising over the sea behind him, hearing nothing but the waves roll onto the beach. The beach in front of him wasn't like the ones in Thariin, where it was sandy, with grass on the upper plains. It was rocky; almost a rugged terrain, with pine trees.

Wondering how he got here, he gazed around where he was standing. It looked deserted; nothing was there, except for a few remnants of what were houses. It was peaceful, Ukiah felt nothing like it before.

Beginning to walk to the remains of the houses, he continued to look around to see if he could find anyone. He moved the same way he hunted, slowly, and cautiously. He didn't know why he was walking like that when he felt this peaceful.

Nearing the houses, he noticed that he was walking on an abandoned stone road, completely overgrown with grass and weeds. The houses had young, but sturdy looking pine trees growing out of them, adding a more abandoned feel to the atmosphere.

Ukiah walked right up to a larger building that was centered in the middle of what looked like a plaza, or a village square. Stopping at the door, he felt a small breeze rush by him as he stared into the main room.

He didn't know why, but he felt something beckoning him to come inside. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the abandoned building.

Walking into the center of the room, Ukiah paused for a second. He felt as if he was being watched, and that was a feeling Ukiah learned to never ignore. Turning around, he saw something that took his breath away.

It was a Viking warrior. Dressed in black metal armor that Ukiah had never seen before, with a black cloak that wrapped around the right side of his body making the only body parts that Ukiah could see were his left arm and leg. His face was shadowed by the helmet that he wore, a classic two horned Viking one. Ukiah couldn't see his eyes and the only way he could tell the facial expression of the stranger was the slight grin that was beginning to form on his face. He was clean shaven as well, making him a lot more mysterious.

Not sure what to do, Ukiah just stood there and was going to let the silent stranger take the lead with introductions. Or aggressions.

All this time though, his peaceful feeling that was still burning inside of him, seemed to be amplified at the presence of the stranger.

The stranger began to turn and walk out of the doorway. Ukiah, feeling compelled to follow him, tried to catch up without running.

Following the stranger to the edge of the deserted buildings, the person stopped and seemed to be looking down at something. Ukiah, walking slowly to the side of him, stared at what he was looking at.

It was a whole skeleton; laid out in almost a peaceful way. Ukiah stared at it for a second, then turning to the stranger, asked "Is this someone you know?"

Almost seeing a nod, Ukiah then followed up with, "was it someone close?"

Shrugging slightly and nodding, Ukiah took it as a 'you can say that.'

Staring at the stranger and the skeleton for a few more seconds, a thought came into Ukiah's head. Looking back at the armored stranger, he asked a final question: "Is it you?" Chills ran down his spine as he finished asking that question.

The grin now turned into a small smile and the stranger nodded a lot more noticeably than before, but he still never turned to face Ukiah.

"Then why am I here?" Ukiah asked, knowing this wasn't a coincidence. He never believed in ghosts that haunted places, but he did believe that spirits could visit people. Kind of a conflict, but it was the best reasoning that Ukiah could come up with.

Then a voice that seemed to come from nowhere, said "To remember the past, to remember those forgotten, to remember yourself."

Confused more at the saying than trying to figure out where the voice came from, Ukiah said with a little agitation in his voice "what's that supposed to mean? I hate riddles; just tell me why I'm here, or why your here!"

With no change in his facial expression, the stranger looked up and started to walk down a small hill, leading to the forest.

"Wait!" Ukiah called out, trying to follow him. But regardless of how fast he walked or ran, the stranger just got farther and farther away, until he disappeared into the tree line.

Ukiah himself, started to notice that his surroundings were beginning to look twisted and compressed.

Looking around frantically, the world was starting to go black again.

"No, not again!" Ukiah said desperately, falling to his knees with his hands over his head, trying to prevent him from passing out again. Regardless how hard he tried to fight it, the darkness overcame him and he fell back into another deep sleep.

* * *

Thunder crashed over Thariin Village, as another storm moved over the immense village. Up in the keep were Strogg and his two remaining champions, Ugo and Malke.

They had just finished a mourning ceremony in the court yard for Harze, the second champion of Thariin.

Walking in the dimly lit hallway towards his throne room, Strogg was looking for anything to kill.

One guard accidently tripped in front of Strogg while on patrol. If it wasn't for all the other guards and the champions calling out to Strogg, the guard would have met a miserable end.

Upon reaching the Throne Room, Ugo and Malke stayed near the door just in case.

Strogg on the other hand walked up to a table littered with food and flipped it in rage. Staring at the mess he had just made for a few seconds, which felt like an eternity for those watching, he finally walked slowly to his throne and sat down.

On cue, the servants in the room made short work of the flipped table. Soon it was already cleaned up and a new table cloth was put on, ready to receive more food.

"Ugo, Malke, come here…" Strogg said tiredly but still had a hint of anger in his voice.

Walking up to Strogg, the two champions kneeled before him.

"Rise" Strogg said in bored tone "I have a request to make for the both of you."

"Anything my chief" replied Ugo, relived that the pressure was beginning to leave the room.

"Aye, tell us to get the ships ready and we'll be on our way to Berk by sunrise!" Malke chimed in.

"No, I only want one thing. I can care less about Stoick and the others, they were only pawns really." Strogg said, pondering on something "I want Ukiah. It was because of him that Harze is dead, that the Berk Vikings took up arms against us, and he was the only one to openly attack me."

Ugo had a question pop into his head "Why is it that Stoick and his crew helped Ukiah?"

"A fair question Ugo, that's a very fair question." Strogg said thoughtfully, his hand stroking his beard. "I'll give you an answer without really giving you one. You see, Stoick and I have a history that we share, not a glamorous one by any means. So we both decided to keep it in the dark, so no one would be…affected by it. However, Ukiah was indirectly affected by us and we had no idea about him. My guess is that Stoick wanted to…" Strogg thought for a minute to think of a way to convey the message without openly conveying it. "Repay him."

Confused at his answer, Ugo decided to drop the subject.

"Very well my chief" Malke said "We'll prepare a small fleet to go to Berk this instant."

"No." Strogg replied quickly "Take the Water Cutter, my personal ship; it's the fastest ship to sail these waters. Catch up to Stoick and give him my terms. Tell him that I'll forgive him of his and his tribe's trespasses against the people of Thariin, if and only if, Ukiah is surrendered to me"

"Yes my chief, and if they say no?" Ugo asked.

He's a man of reason; he'll see what's best." Strogg said confidently "Now go! I feel that they are making great speed."

Kneeling at the same time, Ugo and Malke turned and at a quick pace, exited the room.

Strogg turned to look out of a window, watching the rain fall, pondering the past few days.

* * *

Ukiah slowly opened his eyes to find himself in a hammock. Looking around from where he was laying, he saw that he was in a small room, a closet almost. There was a small round window in the wall to his right, letting a blinding ray of light in. Even more confused than before, he rested his head in the hammock, closing his eyes trying to piece what had happened.

Last he recalled was that he was staring at Kobaalt, trying his best to rub his head. Astrid and Hiccup were helping him get his gear off and cleaning him up as best they could. Then he was on an island with a lone Viking warrior…thinking about that was making Ukiah's head spin again.

Realizing that he didn't have any of his gear on, he looked at himself. His body was bruised all over, with evidence of dry blood on him. His wounds on his arm and leg were tightly bound with a white wrapping. His bandage on his arm had a little red appearing in the middle of the white cloth.

Someone took off his hunting vest, leaving him shirtless. He was wearing some type of cloth like shorts with a leather belt keeping them on. His leather pants and boots were next to the door, hanging by a peg.

Slowly swinging his legs from the hammock, Ukiah started to get up onto his feet. He was getting light headed just from that small effort on his own, which forced him to sit back down in the hammock. The room wasn't helping either with it being stuffy and slightly moving up and down.

"Up and down? Why's it doing that?" Ukiah thought, then thinking of the past for a bit, he finally had his mind register what had happened "That's right!" Ukiah said to himself "I got hauled onto the ship! That's where I'm at now."

It all made sense. The hammock, the small room, the round window in the wall, Ukiah was on the Berk ship! At this thought, he reviewed the nightmare that he lived through making Ukiah settle more into his hammock. Then there was that dream, at least he thought it was a dream. What was all that supposed to mean, "To remember the past, to remember those forgotten, to remember yourself?" It was just a riddle in Ukiah's mind.

Deciding not to worry about it at that point, Ukiah reviewed in his mind about those who helped him in the recent past.

"I was saved, saved by friends that didn't even know me." Ukiah whispered, turning his thoughts to Astrid throwing the axe and hammer that saved his life; Hiccup who tried to help Kobaalt and helped Ukiah back on his feet and ran with him, regardless of how slow Ukiah was; and Stoick, the man who defied possibly the most powerful Viking chief in the known land, just to save a teenager who played no role in his life. Ukiah thinking of these three people made him realize how lucky he was.

"And of course Kobaalt!" Ukiah said out loud to himself, slightly chuckling. "I'd be nowhere without him."

A noise of something being dragged above him caught his attention.

Not sure what it was, Ukiah made another effort to the door, only able to make it to a crate next to it. Resting on it for another second, he began pulling his boots on one at a time. After succeeding at that task, Ukiah breathed heavily trying to muster what strength he had. Standing up slowly, Ukiah reached for the handle of the door.

Walking was harder than he expected, with the cut on his leg and the hunger that was growing in his stomach. He hobbled into a main room, laid out with hammocks all over. To his right were stairs that led to an opening. Limping slowly up, bracing himself against the wall, Ukiah made way to outside of the ship.

The sun was blinding Ukiah as he stepped out onto the deck. After his eyes adjusted, he looked around and saw the sailors busy with their tasks, seagulls flying in a clear blue sky around the ship, and an endless sea all around him.

Walking slowly to the side of the ship, Ukiah leaned against the railing, breathing the salt air in. He was feeling better already because of the fresh air.

"It's Ukiah! He's awake!" a voice called behind him.

A low mumble was heard as a crowd gathered around Ukiah. Astrid and Hiccup fought to get in front, slightly stumbling in front of Ukiah.

"Well, how do you feel?" Hiccup asked anxiously.

"Eh well, tired, weak, hungry" Ukiah replied, and then with a mischievous grin said "alive" which caused a small chuckle throughout the group.

Almost immediately a plate of fresh fish was set on Ukiah's lap as he sat down on a crate.

Bombarded with questions, Ukiah felt a little overwhelmed by the sudden change of attention; almost like the arena, which made him uneasy.

"Everyone, Everyone!" a voice boomed behind the crowd. "Do you think the ship will sail itself? Get back to your posts! Leave the poor boy be, he's only been awake for a few minutes for the first time in days! Give him some room."

It was Stoick, pushing crew members aside.

"Looks like I have to thank you for three things now," Ukiah said looking up at Stoick smiling "helping me eat in peace, pulling me through the water like a dead weight, and coming up with an armed crew to help me. Thank you."

"Just eat the food, who knows what will happen now with your luck." Stoick said angrily, yet in a friendly way "You'll be a lot more help when you actually have strength."

"Yes sir!" replied Ukiah turning his complete attention to the plate.

Last thing he remembered eating was that old rotten stew in a pot that was probably used to water the dragons in the arena. The fish on the plate was delicious, a complete contrast of the stew. Just the taste seemed to almost re-energize him.

Hiccup and Astrid each pulled a crate next to him and began to converse with him.

"How long was I out?" Ukiah asked while stuffing a mouthful of food in him.

"A long time, five days actually" Astrid said pulling out her axe and began to sharpen it with a stone. "Honestly, we swore that you died a few times when we took off your gear and clothes to patch you up."

Recalling the feeling he had before he passed out, Ukiah said "I'm willing to bet that I did. It felt like it when I passed out, again."

Hiccup pulled something out of a pouch that was strapped to his side. "Here, we tried to save it the best we could, but the mast kind of ate the rest of it." Hiccup said handing Ukiah what was left of the fishing arrow he used as a grappling hook.

Holding it up, Ukiah stared at the arrow. The hook itself was sheared off making the arrow useless.

Sighing, Ukiah tossed it over the edge of the ship. "None of my arrows will be good anymore, I lost my crossbow on the dock when I got cut." saying it with a little pain in his voice, mixed by the sudden movement of tossing the arrow and the memory of his crossbow.

"Oh no, I'm sorry!" Hiccup stated, looking like he might have offended Ukiah.

"No worries, if that's the only casualty we have, I'll be fine" Ukiah said smiling, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"Couldn't you make one Hiccup?" Astrid asked.

This caught Ukiah's attention real quick.

"Uh, well…yes and no, I can make the arms and the mechanism for one, but I can't really form the actual body of it, or set it." Hiccup stated a little embarrassed at this sudden change of attention and his pathetic reply.

"Oh, well, maybe I can help, you know set it in. I don't have any experience with making weapons, but I can tell when they're set right" Ukiah said, a little dejected.

"I bet that can work, but honestly Gobber would be better to go to. He's the one that taught me how to blacksmith." Hiccup said also a little disappointed that he couldn't do what Ukiah needed.

Ukiah relaxed a little bit at this news. He lost his old crossbow, but there was a chance that he would be able to get another one. He hoped he could get another one.

A roar suddenly sounded. Looking up, Ukiah gave a whoop of happiness and surprise as he saw Kobaalt almost dive right into the ship, pulling up at the last second.

"Oh Kobaalt! It's so good to see you alive and well!" Ukiah said gratefully

Kobaalt just pushed his head into Ukiah's chest and then laid it down on his lap, sneaking a fish off the plate.

Laughing, Ukiah said "Alright, you can have that one." Patting his head softly "Just don't give it back, ok?"

"He's one smart dragon," Hiccup said admirably "reminds me of Toothless."

Ukiah forgot about that, that Hiccup had a Night Fury as well. "Oh yeah, you said that you were friends with a Night Fury! Is he like Kobaalt?" Ukiah quizzed excitedly.

"Almost like a mirror. There are only two differences: Kobaalt has a very dark blue streak on his back, which is unique looking; and then Toothless lost half of his tail in an accident. I made him a new one and since then we've depended on each other. He needs me to fly and I need him for…well, everything."

Ukiah smiled and looked down on Kobaalt who was resting on his lap. "I can see why you named him Toothless, that's probably the most intriguing thing of the Night Furies, the toothless smile."

Then something came into Ukiah's head. "You said that Toothless needs you to fly, does that mean that you fly with him?" He asked

"Oh yeah, in fact all my friends do!" Hiccup said smiling

"Yeah, Stormfly is my dragon! She's a pretty Nadder, and will put Kobaalt to shame in a race!" Astrid said confidently, if not arrogantly.

Ukiah was amazed! All this time he never even considered riding Kobaalt, let alone fly on him! "How do you stay on with…" Ukiah trailed off looking at Hiccup's leg.

"Ha! Well it actually helps me! It connects to part of the saddle I made for him; it lets me keep the new tail open during flight." Hiccup said with a slight smirk on his face.

"You even have a saddle for him." Ukiah said dumbfounded. Then looking at Kobaalt who was looking at him with a smile, Ukiah said "I think we should give it a try sometime eh? What do you think Kobaalt?"

Jumping up, almost hitting Ukiah in the face with his head, Kobaalt began moving around excitedly!

"I'd take that as a yes!" Astrid said laughing.

"I'd say the same thing" Hiccup agreed.

"I think we'll start tomorrow, I'm still just a little…uh, well weak and bleeding" Ukiah said turning his head to the bandage around his arm which was starting to leak blood from the bottom of it.

Excited with the possibility to see the world the way the dragons do made Ukiah very anxious for tomorrow.

For the first time in a long time, things were beginning to look good for Kobaalt and Ukiah.


	9. Chapter 9

**Another shout out to all of you reading, following, and reviewing! I hope I didn't forget anyone, if so PM me and i'll fix it up soon!**

**General Samus**

**Musicman2013**

**Narwhal-Riding-Alien**

**NightFire26**

**ScytheRider**

**Separate Entity**

**Toothless-the-nightfury**

**astroshadow**

**bloodlust002**

**booklover41**

**ho9**

**threesixteenswag**

**Without further ado, Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 10

Ukiah was already awake when the crewmen were starting to get up and start their duties.

Taking it as a sign that everyone was up for the day, Ukiah flung out of his hammock, still in the closet like room, and jumped to his gear. His leg gave him a little grief for that

He sat down on the crate and began to put his leather hunting pants on. Ukiah never really slept last night due to the fact that he kept on thinking of him riding Kobaalt.

"We'll be one heck of a team" Ukiah said chuckling to himself as he began putting on his boots, a little more slowly this time due to the injured leg.

Someone knocked on the door next to him. "Come in, almost done in here!" Ukiah called out strapping his first boot on.

Astrid and Hiccup both walked in

"Ready for today?" Hiccup said smiling at Ukiah.

"I think I was ready when I got the idea! My body just disagreed." Ukiah said excitedly putting on his last boot.

"I think it still disagrees" Astrid said a little concerned, noticing that the bandage on the arm was still leaking blood out of the end.

"Meh, it'll heal." Ukiah replied, unconcerned with it as he finished strapping his other boot.

Jumping up, Ukiah made way to a small pile on the other side of the room, grabbing his leather strips that were his gauntlet-like wrappings.

"Will I need a rope to hang on with?" Ukiah asked as he started to wrap his forearms.

"Definitely" Hiccup stated with a tone that suggested that there was no other alternate.

"Ok, I'll be needing some of that" Ukiah said straightening up after he finished wrapping his last arm, testing it to make sure it wouldn't fall off.

"Already got it" Astrid said lifting a coil of rope so Ukiah could see.

Ukiah couldn't help but smile. His friends were genuinely interested in him and his choices. It was something Ukiah never really had in his life before.

"Come on, let's go!" Astrid continued "Get a shirt on and get up on deck!"

Ukiah laughed as he grabbed his hunting vest. Jogging up to the deck, Ukiah called out for Kobaalt.

Not even a second later, Kobaalt flew right in front of Ukiah and rammed his head into Ukiah's chest for another rubbing.

Almost being knocked down, Ukiah laughed as he rubbed Kobaalt's head with extra energy

"Ready boy?" Ukiah asked with happily.

Wagging his tail, Kobaalt stepped back with that same goofy, toothless smile.

"I'd say he's more excited than you are!" Astrid said smiling at Ukiah.

Hiccup couldn't help but think of how excited he was for himself to ride Toothless. He was glad that he was already on his way back home, even though it was going to be another 3 weeks. Still, he couldn't help feel the same excitement that Ukiah was feeling. He would never forget the very first time he actually went flying with Toothless. It almost ended badly, well if badly is a good enough description when you're almost plummeting to the ground or smashing into a rock island!

"Let's get the rope on him so you can hang on, trust me, you'll need it." Hiccup said grabbing the rope out of Astrid's hand.

Ukiah was past excited as he helped Hiccup tie the rope around Kobaalt's neck and around his chest.

Kobaalt though excited to fly with Ukiah, wasn't too fond of the rope. He twisted his head with a facial expression of detest.

Ukiah softly laughed and rubbed Kobaalt's head, whispering "just for me bud, just something for me to hang on to."

Still not entirely thrilled about the rope, Kobaalt lowered his shoulder so Ukiah could get on easier.

Almost floating, Ukiah leapt onto the neck of Kobaalt and grabbed the makeshift handle. Making sure that it wouldn't choke Kobaalt, Ukiah pulled on the rope a little bit. Confirming that it was good, Ukiah looked at Astrid and Hiccup with excitement all over his face.

"Remember, hold on tight! Toothless likes to shoot like an arrow whenever we start to fly, so I imagine Kobaalt will to." Hiccup said warningly

Checking his grip on the rope, Ukiah breathed a heavy sigh, trying to get the nervousness out.

"Just tell him when you're ready, he'll do the rest!" Astrid added.

"Okay Kobaalt, Let's g-" Ukiah was cut off by the sudden launch into the air.

Kobaalt shot forward just like how Hiccup described, an arrow! Ukiah didn't need to check his grip on the rope because his fists were clenched around the rope so tight that death would be the only reason why he'd ever let go.

Kobaalt after flying forward for a bit, then pulled up and began climbing at an incredible speed! Ukiah's breath was taken away at the sudden change in direction! It was a feeling that he never felt before, and probably would never have if he hadn't met Kobaalt!

"Whoa! Whoa!" Ukiah screamed "Kobaalt! Slow down!" His cries were either ignored or not even heard, with the wind rushing by like the sound of a waterfall. "If this is how fast he goes up, how fast can he go down?" Ukiah wondered to himself, checking his grip and pulled his body closer to Kobaalt's.

No sooner had he finished that thought, Kobaalt began to flatten out and then dive.

Ukiah then saw just how high they were, and it scared him. He never had to look down because he was so focused on what was ahead of him. Now, he was forced to look down because it WAS in front of him! Losing his breath again and almost his stomach, Ukiah clung for dear life as Kobaalt screamed downward. The sound of a Night Fury was rich and clear in Ukiah's ears, which was to be expected at this point.

Getting closer and closer to the water, Ukiah began to pull up on the rope out of reflex.

Kobaalt responded quickly to Ukiah's pull and leveled out.

Still having his heart pound through his chest, Ukiah rested for a minute thinking of what had just happened. He had just ridden a Night Fury! He was still riding a Night Fury! It was amazing to feel oneself move faster than the wind!

Getting his nerve back together, Ukiah grabbed the rope and pulled it to the right which Kobaalt responded with a bank to the right.

Laughing now, Ukiah pulled left which Kobaalt promptly turned to. Finally getting a feel for Kobaalt, Ukiah yelled above the wind "Okay Kobaalt, now I'm ready! Give me your best!"

When the words fell into Kobaalt's ears, he instantly re-acted. Rolling a whole rotation, Kobaalt then pulled up and flew even faster upwards.

Ukiah was ready this time, keeping himself tight to Kobaalt's neck.

Kobaalt took a second and looked into Ukiah's face with an expression of 'do you trust me?'

Ukiah, seeing this, smiled and nodded. "Give it to me" he mouthed.

Not even double checking with Ukiah, Kobaalt rolled over and did another dive, this time a lot more straight down.

Ukiah kept his body hugging Kobaalt's neck, not wanting to slow Kobaalt down and to prevent himself from flying off of him.

Kobaalt stared at the blue sea that was coming closer every second. Narrowing his eyes, he straightened out his body even more; making him a sleek line, ready to cut through anything.

Ukiah feeling Kobaalt's body shift a little, read exactly what he was going to do. Realizing it was a bad idea to let the dragon dictate what they should do; Ukiah laid his head on Kobaalt's neck to make him tighter and prayed.

From Hiccup and Astrid's point of view, they were doing another generic dive. Until they saw that they were getting way to close to the water. They started to scream to tell them to pull up! However, they knew they could do nothing but watch; certain that the two were going to die. Hiccup had been on Toothless doing a dive into water, but not at full speed.

Watching helplessly as the two crashed into the water, Hiccup leaned against the edge of the ship. A pillar of water shot out replacing where they were not even a second ago.

"What'd he do?" Stoick roared behind them

Stoick had been watching the two since they took off.

"Ukiah and Kobaalt just crashed into the water at full speed!" Hiccup cried out, still leaning over the edge of the ship scanning the water to see if he could see anything

Suddenly a splash sounded off behind them. Turning around, they saw Kobaalt and Ukiah, who was still hanging onto the rope, pop out of the water behind the ship.

"They must have glided in the water under the ship!" Astrid shouted excitedly with an expression of relief on her face.

"Amazing" Hiccup whispered

"More like stupid!" Stoick breathed out angrily

On the back of Kobaalt, Ukiah couldn't believe it! He just dove into the water at speeds that couldn't even be comprehended and was still alive! Looking down to Kobaalt, Ukiah said "We did it! You did it!"

Kobaalt reacted by doing a quick roll and smiling.

"Come on; let's do a fly by!" Ukiah said tugging on the rope, turning Kobaalt towards the ship.

Hiccup, Astrid and Stoick, along with the crew watched Ukiah and Kobaalt turn towards them.

Stoick was still frowning because of the recklessness of Ukiah. "Boy's going to get himself killed." Stoick said shaking his head.

Watching the two scream past the ship made Hiccup suddenly sick, because he was missing Toothless even more now. Looking at Astrid, Hiccup guessed she was thinking the same thing.

"WOOH!" Ukiah cheered as he passed the ship. "This is amazing Kobaalt!" then looking down at his friend said "Thank you…"

Kobaalt just kept a straight course, smiling to show that he acknowledged the compliment.

Raising his head, Ukiah sat straight up and squinted. He saw a small dot in the water at quite a distance. Pointing to it, Ukiah asked Kobaalt "Do you see that? Let's check it out."

Slightly diving to accelerate a little more, Kobaalt flew closer to the speck.

As they got closer, Ukiah saw what it was. It was a ship, not only that, but it was a Thariin ship! It was a little different than the usual Viking ship, because it was smaller and had a sleek, almost flat design. On top of it was a massive sail, carrying the plank of wood of a ship, at a speed that made it a lot faster than any other.

"Come on! We've got to warn the others!" Ukiah said pulling Kobaalt around, hoping they weren't spotted.

* * *

"Are you sure it was a Thariin ship?" Stoick asked concerned.

"Yes, it had the Thariin symbol on the sail, and there's only one kind of ship that has that symbol on their sail, a warship." Ukiah replied swaying a little bit trying to get used to the deck moving up and down.

It was hard to walk again after riding Kobaalt, Ukiah's balance was thrown off a little. Plus, the injury to his leg wasn't helping. After the dive, Ukiah's bandages were torn and the wounds were opened slightly.

"What kind was it?" Stoick continued to interrogate.

"Couldn't tell; it was one that I never seen before. It was like an arrow in the water, powered by a massive sail. It was moving faster than any ship that I know of." Ukiah said, then looking around the ship, followed up with "even this ship"

"Well, we'll be ready for them" Stoick said, his eye's narrowing.

Astrid and Hiccup were only spectators at this point, but Hiccup then asked his dad "Can we just attack them with Kobaalt? I mean they wouldn't be able to do anything about it."

"No, because it's only one ship, not a group" Stoick said resolutely "I'd think that if they were meaning hostile action they would bring a few more ships just to make sure they would win."

"So we're waiting for them?" Astrid asked

"Kind of, I'm going to let them catch up to us first." Stoick responded, then turning to Ukiah and Kobaalt "However, I want you two ready to fly when we meet up with that ship, just in case they do try to do something that I don't like. Can you do that?"

Ukiah and Kobaalt looked at each other and then, looking back at Stoick, Ukiah said "Of course. If it helps in any way, we'll do whatever you ask. "

Nodding, Stoick walked off making a few orders to try and help speed up the ship. He was going to have the Thariin ship work to get to them.

"Ukiah, you need to tell us what you thought of flying!" Astrid said excitedly, trying to change the subject.

"Hm? Oh yeah!" Ukiah said, obviously distracted by his thoughts.

He was so worried about him endangering his friends, that he almost forgot the incredible experience he just had.

Smiling, Ukiah told Hiccup and Astrid how his flight went. "It was the most amazing feeling I've ever felt! Being weightless and falling and…and" Ukiah couldn't get the words to describe what he experienced "you know what I'm talking about don't you?"

Smiling, both Hiccup and Astrid nodded.

"The dive really about did me in, but now I feel I can do anything with Kobaalt!" Ukiah said rubbing Kobaalt's head "It was the most unreal experience I've ever had."

"It was the same way for me. Toothless gave me a ride to remember when Hiccup kidnapped me." Astrid said grinning

"Really? That's how you got her?" Ukiah asked raising a brow, turning to Hiccup.

"Uh…well that depends! You see, I uh, I was trying to keep him a secret and well…she found out. I stopped her in order to try and show her how good Toothless was!" Hiccup said sheepishly. "But he had a different idea of how to show that to her."

Astrid laughed as she replayed the experience in her mind. Then looking at Hiccup, she smiled with a look of satisfaction.

The three spent the next hour talking about dragons and tips with flying, trying to take off their mind of the Thariin ship that was coming. It worked actually until they heard a "Ship Ahoy" from the watchman on top of the mast.

Running to the side, the three peered over the edge of the ship and saw a massive sail basically flying towards them. It had a white flag on top of its mast as well.

"Looks like their coming with peace in their mind" Ukiah said coldly "I highly doubt that it's going to be any favor for us."

After a minute of watching the ship, Ukiah broke the silence "I got to go get my gear, never know what may happen."

"I'll follow; I should have my axe with me when we meet up." Astrid said.

"Oh I should go and…get my dagger!" Hiccup threw in so that he wasn't left out of the group.

A short 15 minutes later, Astrid and Hiccup were watching Stoick grab a rope that was tossed over.

After tying it to the side of the ship, Stoick began to converse with Ugo, who was acting as the leader in charge.

Ukiah was on Kobaalt's back, ready for the word to fly and take out the Thariin ship. Honestly he was hoping that would be the case.

"Stoick the Vast, I am Ugo, a champion of Thariin. I am acting on behalf of Chief Strogg the Stone. We come to you this day, to talk about the past events that have taken place in Thariin; which everyone on board your ship was involved in." Ugo declared, looking up from his ship at Stoick

"Yes, I know why you're here Ugo. How about telling us the real reason why you came sailing all this way to hunt us down?" Stoick thundered down on Ugo.

"Fine" Ugo growled back "Strogg the Stone is willing to forgive you and your tribe the trespasses committed, on one condition. It is the only condition that he desires and nothing else will satisfy it. He wishes you to surrender the criminal Ukiah to us."

As if a fist hit his stomach, Stoick lost his breath. He looked at Ukiah, who by this time dismounted Kobaalt and stood up straight, ready to cross ships.

Ukiah at this point was torn. He obviously didn't want to go because it would mean certain death. However, he also didn't want to have all his friends punished because of him! Ukiah knew what was needed to be done.

Astrid and Hiccup gasped and they looked at Ukiah, beginning to walk towards Stoick.

"There's that helpless feeling again…" whispered Hiccup.

Astrid only nodded as she stared at Ukiah. His face was so calm; as if set in stone, not changing.

Stoick seeing what Ukiah was doing turned and faced Ugo "That is not an acceptable condition. We will not accept." Stoick roared, glaring at Ugo.

Ukiah's mouth dropped. Was he actually defending him? "Why? I'm no one worth going to war for" he thought.

"Stoick, please be reasonable. We are the most powerful tribe known, and you're denying a basically free pardon?" Ugo questioned.

"I said no." Stoick glared "If Strogg wants to change his mind as to the condition; I'll be more than happy to discuss it. However, a life is not worth a 'pardon' as you so called it." Stoick continued in a more aggressive tone "If not a change to the conditions, we will be more than happy to receive such a tribe with the drums of war sounding off."

"Stoick please!" Ugo almost begged "I cannot return to Strogg with this news!"

"Then I guess you better not go back." Stoick said, untying the rope from his ship "you have 10 minutes to leave us before we take matters into our own hands."

"You'll be wishing you took the offer Stoick, when you witness you village being burned, your men being slaughtered, and your son dying in a most painful manner!" Malke spat back, who was standing next to Ugo. The denial of the proposal set his temper in a flare.

"Three minutes!" Stoick roared, raising his hammer to which all the men behind him followed suit by drawing their weapons.

Elbowing Malke hard in the stomach, Ugo ordered "Take us away; set us at full speed back to Thariin."

Within those three minutes, the massive sail began to disappear into the distance. There were a few minutes of silence, other than the few orders Stoick gave to get them back to full speed.

Ukiah slowly walked next to Stoick who was still gazing into the infinite blue sea.

"Why? Why did you do that for me?" Ukiah asked softly, gazing in the same direction as Stoick.

Hiccup and Astrid were also close by, not wanting to miss a beat in the conversation.

"You know your own history right boy?" Stoick asked still staring across the horizon.

"You mean where I really come from? Yes I do, not very well though" Ukiah stated turning towards Stoick "but, how do you know my history?"

"Let me add to your knowledge real quick. I was there when the attack happened. I was with them." Stoick said, his voice shaking a little bit. "I've been so ashamed of that act most of my life, I wanted to forget it all, hide from it; which I eventually did forget. But after seeing you in the arena while you put that…sacred war paint on, it brought everything back to life. I'm doing this, all this, because I'm tired of running from this memory; I'm going to help you bring back the tribe of Crev."

Ukiah was floored by this comment. "Yo-you were there?" He asked in different tone that Hiccup or Astrid ever heard before, almost hateful.

Nodding, Stoick turned to face Ukiah, with watered eyes.

Turning his head back to the sea Ukiah whispered "Then you know that I'm the last of them, the last one that has access to our gift; you and Strogg are the only ones that know that."

"Do you know your lineage?" Stoick asked.

Ukiah shook his head, looking back at Stoick. "My guardian told it to me. Of course I forgot it, which is a shame to forget your parent's names."

Stoick patted Ukiah on the shoulder, saying "regardless, you will be an asset to us, I know you will."

Nodding, Ukiah turned his attention back to the horizon.

Stoick then walked off giving the following orders: "Set the sail for more than it can handle, we will only have a few days to prepare before the Thariin ships arrive at Berk. Get the oars out; I want nonstop rowing until we get there!"

Hiccup and Astrid slowly walked up to Ukiah, not really sure what to say.

"Just to let you know, because you over heard me and your father, my tribe was murdered 17 years ago. I know this because I was a newborn when it happened. My parents were killed and I was taken in the care by a single woman. She was later killed by the same man who was responsible for the death of my tribe, because she tried to publish what happened at Crev, my native island." Ukiah said solemnly not even looking at them "The war paint was a tradition that my tribe used when we were going to a fight. That's all I really know about me."

"What about this 'gift' that you talked about?" asked Hiccup, not sure if that was too much to ask.

"I'll tell you what I know about it, I'm sure it goes a lot deeper than what I am about to say. The tribe of Crev was known to be fighters. Tradition says that the dead ancestors of a dedicated warrior could give skills, even energy when in battle. I guess that explains why I was able to fight so well in the arena; I've never really fought another man, let alone a group of them." Ukiah stated, his face not changing "The skill becomes more powerful when you know your ancestors, which I have forgotten, and have no way to be able to learn of them."

"I'm so sorry" Astrid said quietly "We can't even begin to know what that's like."

Grimly, Ukiah replied with chilling words, "You might just find out when Strogg invades Berk."


	10. Chapter 10

**I don't have much to say, other than...**

**ENJOY!**

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Chapter 11

Toothless was lying in front of Hiccup's house, with the same depressed look that he had when he first learned that he couldn't go with Hiccup. His facial expression never changed since then. Also adding to the mood, was the fact that he couldn't fly. The other kids tried to ride him, but everyone ended with a face plant into the ground, failing to even help him fly a good 100 yards. Toothless sighed and closed his eyes, trying to sleep the time away.

"Come on guys, we have to do something!" Fishlegs said earnestly, looking from the dragon arena down to where Toothless was laying.

"Uh, like what? We all know how well your last idea went" Ruffnut replied with an annoyed tone to her voice

"Yeah, my face still hurts from the crash I took, that was like…" Tuffnut counted his fingers "12 days ago."

"It actually makes me feel better!" Ruffnut chimed in with a smirk

Tuffnut grabbed her helmet and pushed down, having it cover her eyes, and then shoved her away, to which she tried to swing a punch at him.

"Ok, ok, that probably wasn't the best idea, but we have to try to take Toothless' mind off of Hiccup! I mean, we have no idea when they're coming back!" Fishlegs desperately pled

"Hmm" Snotlout greatly exaggerated to show everyone the he had an idea "What if we give him a Hiccup to take his mind off of Hiccup!"

"Uh…what?" Tuffnut said looking completely lost.

"What if we give Toothless a Hiccup doll? It'll probably be bigger than the real one anyways!" Snotlout said excitedly "It's perfect!"

The others thought about this and decided that it was the best idea that anyone could come up with, let alone the only idea.

Splitting up to get the resources needed to make a Hiccup doll, they left on their dragons agreeing to meet back in one hour.

Toothless looked up as he noticed the riders and their dragons fly away from the ring. With a loud groan, Toothless let his head drop onto the ground, not even caring what it landed on.

A short hour went by and the four met back at the arena.

"Everyone have what they were supposed to get?" Fishlegs said excitedly as he set a bunch of twigs on the ground.

"Yeah, I got the twine and the yak hair!" Snotlout said proudly, showing off in a manly way.

"And I got the cloth!" Tuffnut said dropping a role of greenish cloth on the ground.

"No, I got it!" Ruffnut said correcting her brother.

"No way, I was the one who found it!" he quickly replied, squaring himself to his sister.

"That's not true!" Ruffnut shouted, also turning to face her brother.

They began swinging and hitting each other

Ignoring them, because the fights usually last for a few seconds and then stop just as suddenly as it started, Fishlegs and Snotlout began bundling twigs together to make the torso of the doll. They did the same thing for the legs and arms.

Another hour went by and after many attempts and many arguments, the doll was finally complete.

"It looks just like him! Except maybe a little more buffer." Snotlout said observing the doll. It was just a little smaller than Snotlout

"Hmm yes, yes" Fishlegs agreed stroking his chin and slightly squinting his eyes at the doll "I think that it'll pass!"

"Come on" Ruffnut said picking up the doll "let's bring it to Toothless!"

Toothless was finally asleep until he heard Fishlegs call his name.

Annoyed that he was woken up, Toothless looked right at Fishlegs who was obviously holding something behind his back.

"Hey Toothless! We got you a present!" Fishlegs sang, trying to kill the excitement in his voice. Then knowing he had Toothless' attention he yelled "We brought you a…HICCUP DOLL!" swinging the doll around. Then trying to mimic Hiccup's voice said "Hey bud! How are you doing?"

Toothless' facial expression went from confused to annoyed, and then set his head back down and brought his tail around to cover his face.

"Huh, maybe he doesn't think it's Hiccup, or that it doesn't even look like him." Fishlegs said looking at the doll.

"I know what to do!" Snotlout loudly said "you just got to force it sometimes." Grabbing the doll from Fishlegs and walking right in front of Toothless, he yelled, in an almost angry tone "Toothless! It' Hiccup! Come on welcome him!"

Toothless raised his head and stared at Snotlout with the same expression he had before. Then with little effort, blew fire at the doll, which immediately took to flame.

Screaming in a panic Snotlout took off running, trying to find something cold for his hands which held onto the doll a moment too long.

"Hmm, I still think he doesn't like it" Fishlegs confirmed watching Snotlout run to the shore to douse his burnt hands. "Maybe we should just let him be and wait for Hiccup to come…"

"That was my idea in the first place" Tuffnut whined.

Dejected, they all mounted their dragons and took off, going back to the arena.

Snotlout just finished soothing his burnt hands in the cool ocean water; when Hookfang, his dragon, came walking behind him. Noticing that the others were going back to the arena and making sure the water did its job with his hands, he also climbed on his Monstrous Nightmare. Taking off, he went to follow the others, when something caught his eye. It was a ship! And what was even better, was that it was Stoick's ship! Too add to the excitement, it was close and getting more so every second!

"Come on Hookfang, let's get the others!" Snotlout laughed excitedly "This will be a real surprise for Toothless!"

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Ukiah was sitting with Hiccup and Astrid, talking about different ways on how to fly and move while riding a dragon. There were many more flights that took place after the meeting with Ugo, all of which Ukiah showed greater improvement of riding every time. He and Hiccup already had a saddle designed for Kobaalt.

In return, Ukiah taught Astrid and Hiccup how to fight with a dagger. Astrid quickly picked up on the new content with her dagger that she bought in Thariin. Hiccup practiced with them because he had nothing else to do and he might as well do it with Astrid. His skill showed that he could use more practice, lots more of it actually.

"There's Berk Ukiah! Your new home!" Hiccup said holding out his hand towards Berk in a way that made it look like he was presenting it to him "What do you think!"

To be honest, Ukiah was a little disappointed. It was small, not that it mattered, but he thought that Berk was going to be a lot bigger for the stories he had heard from it. "I guess finding out who Hiccup was, was surprise of itself." The rock pillars shooting out of the water were a sight though, made the ones in Thariin seem like babies. "Looks amazing" Ukiah said half lying and half telling the truth.

"You sure you don't want to just fly over?" asked Astrid, hinting at the idea.

"Yes I'm very sure. I really don't want to introduce a different Night Fury to your tribe without Stoick, or you Hiccup." Ukiah said gesturing to Hiccup.

"Make sense" Hiccup said nodding in agreement "I can't wait for Toothless and Kobaalt to meet!"

"I just hope that they'll get along" muttered Ukiah to himself.

Looking at the shore, the group saw a Monstrous Nightmare take off and fly fairly quickly to the arena, set in a cliff.

"Looks like Snotlout" Astrid said with her eyes following the Monstrous Nightmare flying to the arena "I bet he saw us and went to get the others!"

"Do you still use your arena?" Ukiah asked, seeing the Nightmare fly into it.

"Well kind of, it's more of a place that we headquarter ourselves at. We train ourselves and our dragons to be better united." Hiccup said facing Ukiah "we stopped using it for killing dragons if that's what you meant."

Ukiah suddenly had an overwhelming feeling of excitement and nervousness. For the first time in his life, he was going to live in a community that he would be a part of. He already has friends that would look out for him, and Kobaalt is more like family. Then grimly thinking to himself "All the reason to win the coming war…"

Hiccup was equally, if not more excited than Ukiah. He couldn't wait to ride Toothless! It's been way to long for both of them to be apart from each other. "This is going to be the last trip I have not taking Toothless with me." He thought to himself.

The ship was getting ready to dock, which was already full of people ready to welcome back their chief.

"Oi! Stoick!" a voice called out "'bout time you showed up!" A big man then stood out of the crowd grabbing a tossed rope from the ship to tie it down.

"Aye, it's good to see you to Gobber," Stoick said with a hearty laugh which died down quickly "but I'm afraid I don't come with the news expected. I need to meet with the council, now." His last statement was just that, a statement that was expected to get done.

"Oh…oh…I see," Gobber replied with a look of seriousness on his face "Well, in that case I'll just go and grab the men; I'll meet you up there" He looked at Hiccup with a concerned look on his face as to ask 'what's going on?' To which Hiccup just shook his head indicating that it was bad news.

Ukiah didn't picture Gobber the way that he actually looked like, but he instantly liked him when he saw him. "Interesting looking guy" he said looking at Hiccup, smiling "you lose your leg the same way he lost his hand and foot?"

"Kind of, a dragon was involved in both cases, just his involved more teeth than mine did." Hiccup replied with a smile of his own.

Stoick's voice grabbed Ukiah's attention

"Ukiah, I want you to come to the council with me, considering you're the reason why I need to have it in the first place" Stoick said turning to Ukiah. "I need to not only tell them why, but I need to show them why we will be going to war."

"Of course I'll come, I mean you saved me, let me on your ship, denied the claims of Strogg, and you're going to let me live on your island. I don't really have a choice here!" laughed Ukiah. "As long as Kobaalt can come with me, I'll do what you ask."

"Yes he can come as well; he'll only help prove my case." Stoick replied, nodding his head "Hiccup, I don't need you right now, and I think that if I took you to the council, that you'd be no help; because all you would be thinking about is Toothless."

"Thanks dad! Honestly you're probably right." Hiccup gleefully said, almost floating off the ship onto the dock.

Following Stoick, Ukiah jumped off the ship with Kobaalt right behind him. Ukiah was getting a lot of quizzical stares from the local Berk Vikings as they began walking off the dock. Actually, it was Kobaalt who was getting most of the attention, with every Viking at the dock taking a step back as they passed by them.

Hiccup on the other hand, sprinted ahead of Ukiah and Stoick. He had to go find Toothless; it's been way too long. Ignoring the greetings from other Vikings, he was so wrapped up in the thought of Toothless that he didn't notice Astrid was running right behind him.

"In a hurry?" Astrid called behind him, laughing.

Surprised, Hiccup turned his head to face her but kept on running towards his house. "Yeah! I see that you are too!"

"Not anymore!" Astrid yelled as she looked up and saw Stormfly swoop down and stop in front of her. "Stormfly! I missed you so much!" Astrid laughed, almost tackling and then hugging Stormfly's head.

Smiling at the scene, but not stopping, Hiccup looked ahead where he was running to; just in time to see Toothless run and jump on top of him. Pinned to the ground, Hiccup laughed as Toothless licked his face and rubbed his head. "Oh Toothless, I'm so glad to see you bud!" he yelled out loud.

For a moment, nothing seemed to matter, nothing was wrong; they were together again, and it made anything that was going wrong, suddenly disappear.

"Come on bud! Get off of me and we'll go fly!" Hiccup laughed

Instantly Toothless jumped off of him and almost seemed giddy at the idea of flying.

Hiccup setting himself on Toothless, locked his leg in place, testing the artificial tail. Seeing that everything was smooth, Hiccup gave Toothless a sign that he was ready to go. Launching into the air Hiccup laughed! They climbed higher and higher at a height that Hiccup had missed visiting. Closing his eyes to absorb as much of the feeling that he could, Hiccup raised his hands above him and shouted with happiness, which was followed by Toothless roaring in agreement.

Then hearing a squawk like roar behind him, turning his head around, he saw Astrid following closely behind him.

"Can't let you have all the fun to yourself!" Astrid called out, urging Stormfly to move faster

"Hah! Good luck keeping up, Toothless has 2 months' worth of energy ready to burn!" He yelled back, accepting the challenge by laying low on Toothless and beginning a dive. Astrid and Stormfly were right behind them with a dive of their own. After diving for a good 10 seconds, they pulled up just in time to avoid crashing into the water. Hiccup and Toothless were travelling so fast at that point, that they were leaving a wake in the water that was just feet below them.

Astrid was taken back at the speed they were travelling at. Normally she and Stormfly were able to keep up, but this time she was having a hard time keeping the same distance. "I guess he does have some stored energy…" She huffed to herself. Having Stormfly keep the same speed that they were cruising at, all she could do was smile and watch Hiccup and Toothless climb back into the air spinning, celebrating that the long trip was over.

* * *

Ukiah was staring up at the sky with Kobaalt. He was amazed at how maneuverable and graceful Hiccup and Toothless were. Turning to Kobaalt, Ukiah said "Looks like we have a few more days of practice ahead of us!" Kobaalt turned and, understanding what Ukiah was saying, nodded in agreement.

Then seeing shadows fly over them, they both looked up to see three other dragons flying after Hiccup and Astrid. "Must be their crew…" Ukiah said staring off after them. He was wishing that he could have gone with Hiccup and Astrid to fly with them, but there were definitely more important matters at hand.

Following Stoick to the Great Hall, Ukiah was impressed with the size of the doors. Stoick opened one of the doors, letting in some of the men that followed them from the docks. "Looks like Gobber is still getting a few more" Stoick observed looking down the stairs and seeing Gobber talking to a group of men.

"So is this council to strategize for the war?" Ukiah asked curiously.

"Not exactly, it's more to officially set the terms of what will cause us to go to war. Remember, we're not exactly fighting each other yet, and I don't want to go and attack any Thariin ship that sails nearby, other tribes might not like that." Stoick stated.

"So it's more of a diplomatic move then?" Ukiah summed.

"Eh, sure for the lack of a better term, yes it is. If Strogg doesn't attack us then I'm alright with that, but chances are that he won't let this slide by. I just want to village men to know what's probably going to happen, this will let me see those who are with me and those who aren't" Stoick said walking into in the Great Hall.

By this time Gobber had just gathered the rest of the council and was proceeding to fill his mug that was attached to his hand.

"Hmm," Ukiah thought to himself "crafty one he is."

After a few minutes of talking, greeting and speculating what the meeting was about, and why a stranger of a boy and another Night Fury were there, the meeting began to proceed.

"Vikings of Berk, I come back with grave news." Stoick's voice echoed in the vast room "Our trip to Thariin was…eventful. We were able to meet with Strogg the Stone, however, his interests were not in our favor. Those who don't know Strogg, which is most of you, don't know what his passions are." Stoick paused at this moment, thinking of how to deliver his thought "I'll be very upfront with you. He enjoys killing, and death. Not just with animals or dragons, but other Vikings as well."

A mummer ran through the crowd at this news.

"So why are we having this meeting? There must be more to it than that!" A voice called out from the crowd of Vikings.

"Let me finish first," Stoick said impatiently "Strogg in the past was responsible for an entire annihilation of a tribe about twenty years ago, the Tribe of Crev." After a small pause, Stoick continued "You may not have heard of Crev, but it was a prosperous tribe, but now gone and only a memory for a few." Stoick said, then turning to Ukiah who was standing next to him, said a few words that directed all attention to Ukiah "except for this one, it's a life style."

"Are you saying that this boy is from Crev, which you said was destroyed a good two decades or so ago?" asked a man standing near Stoick.

"Yes, this is Ukiah, the last of the Tribe of Crev" thundered Stoick.

Making sure that the comment sank into the crowd he turned back to them, almost roaring this time "Strogg wants him dead! I will not let him do that! As we speak, Strogg is coming with the entire Thariin navy to get this boy." He was pointing straight at Ukiah, who at this time was standing with pride. "I asked you all to come here, so that we can discuss the limits that we will set on Strogg and his army! I want to know who will fight with me to save the last of the Crev!"

It was silent at first, which made Ukiah worried. Then one by one, every single Viking in the room shouted acceptance of the request. It was a beautiful sight. Every Viking shouted while drawing his weapon, and raised it into the air.

After the excitement died down, a voice came from the back, in almost a challenging way, saying: "Stoick, Stoick, Stoick, even though most don't know about the island of Crev, there are a few who still do." An older man stood out of the crowd, holding a cane like stick, which seemed to add to his age. "I remember Crev more than you probably do! If this boy is from Crev, how about he demonstrates how a Crev warrior fights!" The old man smirked, which told Ukiah that he didn't believe a word that Stoick was saying.

"Ukiah, you want to take this one?" Stoick asked, hinting strongly to do something to satisfy the needs of this man.

"What's your name elder?" Ukiah asked loudly, but respectfully.

"Murky, that's all you need to know boy." He spat back, with almost poison in his tone.

"Why is he so hostile to me?" Ukiah wondered; then speaking up said: "If you're asking for a demonstration of seeing my ancestor's power, I have to apologize now. I was a newborn when Crev was destroyed, my guardian Cella tried but couldn't get any of my family's history to teach me. Consequently, I do not know my ancestor's skill, let alone know of them!" Ukiah stated sharply, raising his voice slightly. This was a tender subject to him, if he had any type of record of his family he would have already been looking for it.

"As I suspected, nothing more than an imposter! No one has seen a Crev in years; if they have they all would have been older by now." Murky said in a tired and annoyed voice. "I know for a fact that this boy is not a Crev!"

This caused a disputation among all the Vikings there, some agreeing with Murky and some with Ukiah.

"That's enough Murky!" Stoick thundered, putting an end to the arguments.

"Wait Stoick, I have something to say" Gobber said, standing up and finishing his drink. "I think that it's fair to point out that Ukiah has an argument here. He said that he was only a newborn when the event happened, thus he would have no recollection of his family let alone his ancestors; which I don't know why that's important."

"Gobber, stop wasting our time!" Murky yelled in the most threatening way that an old man could.

"Aye Murky, I believe it was you who told Stoick that he wasn't the only one who has a knowledge of the Crev. It just so happens that I may know a bit here and there about them as well.

Defeated by this comment, Murky settled down.

Making sure he still had the spotlight, Gobber continued: "Murky on the other hand has a point too, how do we know that this…boy" Gobber tried to say it in a way that wouldn't diminish Ukiah "is a Crev? Is there any way you can prove to us that you're a Crev? I think it would be nice to find out before we go to war with the most powerful tribe!"

Ukiah thought for a minute, then nodding and not saying a word, he walked over to the fire that was lit in the center of the room. He grabbed a mug of, whatever it was, from a Viking sitting at a near table. Setting it down by the fire, Ukiah grabbed a charred stick and proceeded to step on it, breaking it into small, small pieces. After getting a small pile of charcoal, he began to smash it into finer dust.

Stoick knew exactly what Ukiah was doing, and if you weren't next to him, you never would have seen the small smile that grew on his face.

Running the fine dust through his hands, he grabbed the mug and poured its contents onto the pile of charcoal. Mixing the black paste, he spread it all over his hand, making sure it was layered thickly. Standing up, he faced himself to Murky, who was at this time staring right at him, daring Ukiah to show him. No one said a word; it was almost eerie with how quiet it was. Making sure everyone was watching, Ukiah slowly raised his hand to his face, and painted a black diagonal line, high left to low right.

"Well, we now have a chance of winning a potential war with a Crev on our side!" Gobber said smugly, re-filling his mug.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! I've been struggling getting the story moving along, and I've been slowing down a bit. I don't want to, but it's getting harder and harder for me to get my thoughts onto the paper. I'll still be posting some prewrit stuff, but after I only have like 2 or 3 chapters like that though. Still moving along though. So here's the next chapter!**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 12**

"URRRGGHHHH" Ukiah threw up over an edge of a cliff. The stuff he used to mix his paste was messing with his senses, and was making him really sick to his stomach. Making sure he didn't have any chunks hanging from him or around his mouth, Ukiah slowly stood straight up. After standing defiantly with the war paint on in front of Murky and the rest of the Vikings, Ukiah began to realize the stuff he used to mix with the charcoal wasn't a good idea. Turning to Stoick with a face that looked like he was going to be sick, Ukiah was dismissed; with the excuse that Stoick was done with him and needed to consult the men with what they should do.

Feeling a small bump on his back, Ukiah turned around to see Kobaalt with a concerned look on his face.

"I'm ok buddy, just a little…grossed out." Ukiah wryly said.

Relief flooded Kobaalt's face at this news, happy that whatever was wrong with Ukiah wasn't serious.

Ukiah smiled as he looked at Kobaalt. "He's always concerned for me, making sure that I'm ok. I guess what happened in Thariin must have him overly worried about me." He thought.

To be honest, what happened in Thariin was almost too much for Ukiah to think about. It was a month ago when he and Kobaalt were fighting for their lives, about to lose to. If it hadn't been for Stoick, Hiccup, Astrid, and all the Berk Vikings, they would have lost.

Thariin used to be a place that Ukiah ignored until he had to go trade. Even then, he went in and out as fast as he could. "Guess I couldn't really face the truth there." He muttered to himself, rubbing Kobaalt's head.

Then he switched his thoughts to something that was still puzzling him, the dream he had where he was on a different looking island. The abandoned village with the armored Viking, with the peaceful feeling he had the entire time he was there; it was so confusing to him. Then the saying that came as if out of nowhere: "To remember the past, to remember those forgotten, to remember yourself." Ukiah was thinking about that for the entire trip to Berk, and he still made no progress on it.

Ukiah shook his head and looked over the cliff. Kobaalt walked beside him, with a concerned look on his face. Ukiah had a lot going on. He was basically the icon and the cause for the Berk Vikings going to war, Strogg won't stop at anything until he has him, and there were probably a few people on the island not too happy with him being here, Murky being the main representative.

"I guess we'll just have to see how this pans out…" Ukiah said, petting Kobaalt's head.

"Hey Ukiah!" A voice called behind him. "What are you staring at? Come on follow us!"

Turing quickly around, both Ukiah and Kobaalt looked to see Astrid and Hiccup with their gang hovering above them.

"Come on! We got to show you something!" Hiccup called out, as he and Toothless started to fly away.

"Eh, I don't think he looks so tough" the boy on the Nightmare called out, while flying by.

Smiling, Ukiah leapt onto Kobaalt's neck, getting ready to blast through the air like an arrow. It wasn't as fast as he was expecting, but fast enough to launch into the air and catch up with the group.

Curious as to where they were taking him, Ukiah took the liberty of riding in between Hiccup and Astrid. Toothless noticing Kobaalt gave him a toothless smile, to which Kobaalt roared with happiness.

"I wish I could understand what you were saying!" Ukiah laughed hugging Kobaalt's neck to show that he loved him and to keep himself more balanced.

"Man we need to get you a saddle!" Astrid called behind him "You'll fly ten times better!"

"I'll have to follow up with Hiccup!" Ukiah replied yelling.

"Don't worry, I'll make it soon enough!" Hiccup shouted back to both of them

"I need to talk to you about some features with it" Ukiah said turning to face Hiccup "I have a few more ideas for it!"

"Alright, we'll talk later" Hiccup said returning his attention forward.

Doing a quick barrel roll, Hiccup dove straight down; to which Kobaalt followed doing the same thing.

Ukiah then saw exactly where they were going, to the arena. Ukiah knew that it was retired from dragon killing, but it was more than that which made him suddenly uneasy.

Hiccup and the gang flew straight in, minus the Nightmare who had to walk in because of its sheer size

Kobaalt stopped just in front of the gate. Ukiah was staring at the group, now laughing and joking with each other as they dismounted their dragons. He was hesitant, not because of what it was used for, but the memories that he had because he was in one. Kobaalt also seemed a little uneasy.

"Come on!" Snotlout called, sounding like he was bullying Ukiah "Is it too much for you to go through a gate?"

"He's got a long ways to go if he's flying with us" Tuffnut said looking a little disappointed with the teen that had war paint on. "Maybe he just wants to look tough."

"Story of your life…" Ruffnut inserted, resulting a punch from her brother.

Astrid, a little more sensitive than the two, punched both Tuff and Snotlout in the arm to which they both yelped in pain, jumping a good five feet away.

Hiccup walked over to Ukiah, asking "What's wrong? Is it what we used to do here?"

Ukiah shook his head, and then replied with "No, it's not the past of the arena that's haunting me; it's our past that's haunting us."

Hiccup noticed Kobaalt who was also staring into the arena, in a defensive stance.

"If you want to, we can come out" Hiccup suggested, wanting to help Ukiah anyway that he could.

"No, we need to come in; we need to get over what happened to us." Ukiah responded, slowly dismounting Kobaalt. It was now or never, and they didn't have much time to waste being hesitant. Plus, honestly it was pathetic that he couldn't walk through a gate. Sighing heavily, he began to walk through the first gate. As he passed the second gate, he swore that he heard a crowd cheer. Looking around, even though he knew that the only people there were Hiccup and his gang, he still tried to find the source of his imaginary audience.

Kobaalt was equally disturbed, walking slowly and cautiously behind Ukiah, stopping every few feet to make sure it wasn't a trap. Kobaalt wasn't going to let anything happen to Ukiah again, not after he almost lost him when they escaped.

"What's up with him?" Tuffnut whispered to Astrid, watching Ukiah slowly walk towards them

"Long story, I'm sure he'll tell you when he gets here." Astrid replied, visiting the memory she had watching Ukiah and Kobaalt fight for life "In a nut shell, he was almost killed in an arena like this one."

"Oohhh" Fishlegs nodded "I see, I see…"

Finally arriving in front of the group, Ukiah stopped and looked around. If it was the Thariin Arena, he was standing in the same spot where he woke up and found out the horrible truth of him being in an arena.

"So…are you just going to stand there? Or are you going to tell us who you are?" Snotlout said, with a little teasing in his voice "or are you scared of the mighty one that you see before you?" which brought another fist from Astrid into his arm. "OW! What the, what was that for?"

"Being an idiot" Astrid simply and bluntly replied.

Chuckling, Ukiah brought himself out of his thought, relaxing a little bit. "I'm Ukiah. I'm sure that Astrid and Hiccup told you that they basically picked me up nearly dead."

"I'm still positive that you were dead for a minute there…" Hiccup threw in.

"Yeah, it was quite a story! Did you really befriend that Night Fury in the arena?" Fishlegs asked excitedly "That's amazing!"

Ukiah laughed and then explained to them how he and Kobaalt met before the event in the arena. When he went out hunting Kobaalt for gold and glory, but ended up fighting to save him for friendship and honor. From befriending Kobaalt, to arriving on Berk, Ukiah told everything; except the dream he had, he kept that a secret even from Hiccup and Astrid. He began talking about all the stuff he crafted for himself, the vest, pants, and boots.

"I still love the headband Ukiah!" Astrid said pointing to the headband that Hiccup bought from Ukiah.

"Good! It's supposed to last for a while!" Ukiah said, looking at it with satisfaction.

"So you can work leather?" Hiccup asked facing Ukiah

"Well, yeah I can, but doesn't mean I'm efficient at it. I just work with small stuff such as that" Ukiah replied, pointing at Astrid's headband.

"So…are we just going to shoot the breeze, or are we going to do what you wanted to do Hiccup?" Ruffnut asked Hiccup, a little annoyed and bored with following the conversation.

"Do what?" asked Ukiah with slight concern on his face, mostly out of confusion.

Turning to Ukiah with a smile on his face, Hiccup then began to speak to him "Ukiah, as you can see, here in Berk we have a Dragon Training Academy, and we're the riders. Not to big yet, considering we really just started, but we are always looking for people who have potential to help the academy out by being essential riders and contributors. Ukiah, we want you to be part of us! We want you to be a dragon trainer! Both you and Kobaalt will be an important asset for us!" He finished with a bigger smile, holding out his hand in a friendly way "What do you say, you in?"

Ukiah had no idea that this was going to come. He was completely taken off guard with the invitation. He was not only allowed to live on Berk, but he was being invited to be part of an elite group, The Dragon Trainers. "I…I…don't know what to say! I never had anyone offer me such an opportunity." He stuttered, then quickly gathering himself replied "I gladly accept! I will ride with you to the end of my days!" Smiling, he took Hiccup's extended hand. "Me and Kobaalt will be with Berk 'till the world ends."

Kobaalt watching the event and hearing what was going on, roared with approval; causing the other dragons to do the same. It became a celebration as Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins, also laughed and shouted for joy because of the sudden change of energy in the air.

Ukiah's arena experience was beginning to change for the better, not replacing what happened before; it was just reinforcing the fact that he had friends that were sharing the same happiness he was holding onto.

After the celebration died down, Ukiah then spoke up, asking Hiccup a question about his saddle. "Since I'm a rider now, I was curious about the saddle, if we can add a few…perks to it."

Interested and a little confused with the 'perks' Hiccup replied "Oook? What kind of 'perks'?"

"Could you put a bigger quiver, like a slot on it? Something to kind of be a surplus of arrows, just in case I run out during a hunt" Ukiah paused for a second thinking of the future "or a fight."

"Hmm..." Hiccup said stroking his chin, indicating that he was thinking of a possible way to accomplish it. "Yes, I may be able to do that, I'll need your quiver to try and copy it, you know for guidelines."

Ukiah smiled and kneeled down to begin unstrapping the quiver attached to his leg.

"Um, Ukiah?" Astrid said quietly "What about your crossbow? You lost it remember?"

Ukiah slightly frowned, "Yeah, I remember alright, but I'm going to talk to the blacksmith about making me a new one."

"Oh! That's Gob-!" Fishlegs inserted but was cut off by Snotlout

"You fight with a crossbow?" Snotlout asked quizzically "Doesn't sound very manly to me."

"This kid is getting annoying" Ukiah thought to himself "We'll I'm good with it, I've hunted by myself for years, and it's never failed me." He replied standing up with the quiver in his hands. "Here you go Hiccup." Ukiah said, turning to Hiccup extending his quiver towards him.

Hiccup was busy drawing something in his book, then looking up, closed it. Slinging the quiver around, Hiccup said "I'll get busy with this tomorrow; it's starting to get late." He said looking at the sky beginning to turn into a fire orange.

"Of course, I was planning on talking to the blacksmith tomorrow anyways." Ukiah said, acknowledging the fact that it will still be some time before he got his saddle.

Walking out of the arena, Hiccup then asked Ukiah "Why did my dad want to have you come to the council?"

"Oh, to show them I was the last of the Island of Crev, to prove his point I guess." Ukiah stated, reflecting on the events at the council.

"And everyone agreed?" Astrid asked excitedly.

"Well not at first, there was a guy named Murky who was really questioning me and my claim of being the last Crev" Ukiah explained with a hint of anger in his voice

"Really? Murky?" Hiccup asked confused "He always supported my dad and his decisions. In fact when he learned that my dad wanted the dragons to live among us, Murky was the first to really welcome them. He built a shelter for them."

"I don't know, but he was really giving me some grief about me and my past, also questioning Stoick's declaration of war" Ukiah stated. He didn't like Murky at all after the guff that he gave out.

"What do you mean the last of the Crev?" Fishlegs asked trying to change the subject because he saw Ukiah's anger beginning to surface.

"Well, I don't know a whole lot about it; I was just a baby when Strogg attacked my island, leaving me with no memories of my home." Ukiah replied solemnly. "I just know that the Crev were warriors, only gifted in fighting. We were so good at it that when we were able to 'access', for lack of a better term, our ancestors knowledge. It doubled our skill and ability to fight, as if two were fighting in one. It's not like a special power that only the Crev can have, it's only really accessible when you understand you ancestor. So anyone can really get it, I guess it was just more common among the Crev. Also, it's more of an aid, and less than a power. Remember that the Crev were destroyed, which I can only guess that a few handful of warriors really had that connection, not the whole people."

"Wow, so it's like an upgrade!" Fishlegs said excitedly "or a skill with a cool down timer!"

That statement got a lot of looks from the others, to which Fishlegs shrank back from the crowd a little bit.

"So what's with the war paint?" Snotlout asked, pointing his club at Ukiah's face "That's just for show right?"

"No," Ukiah said flatly "It's a symbol that sets us apart from other tribes and the many other different styles of war paint. In fact, it's completely symbolic; it defines who we are. It represents a call of help to those above, from those below. If you notice next time I put it on, hopefully not soon, I go from high left, to low right. It means that I put them that are above first, then me second. It's almost a religion."

"Weird." Ruffnut said a little perked at this

"So do you see people actually help you!?" Tuffnut followed up with, getting more excited as the story flowed.

"What? No!" Ukiah said a little defensively. What Tuffnut said, however, did give Ukiah light on a subject that was bothering him a great deal. "I mean, like a said, I have no knowledge of my past! I don't just say 'Hey ancestors! Come on down and fight for me!' I need to have knowledge of my family, and I might not even be able to access it! It's a sacred gift! On top of that, they just grant me an understanding of their skills, not an actual person."

"That's dumb" Ruffnut said with an annoyed look on his face.

Then Astrid, with a confused look asked "How come you know so much about these two things but not about your family?"

Ukiah thought for a moment, and then sighing "I guess they're the only two things of my traditions that I lived. Everything else I guess was forgotten because I never had a chance to live them, because they were killed."

This left the moment in an awkward silence. No one knew what to say, until Hiccup changed the subject.

"Come on, let's go fly!" he said, turning to Toothless, but not finding where he was last seen. "What the? Toothless where are you!"

A small roar came from the arena. The group followed where it came from to find Kobaalt and Toothless wrestling each other in a playful way.

"I guess these two really took to liking each other." Ukiah said smiling at the sight. He was incredibly relieved that the two weren't fighting each other.

Toothless had Kobaalt pinned, but a quick push and a slight roll allowed Kobaalt to get out from under him. Almost laughing at the sport, the two kept on running and chasing each other.

"Come on Kobaalt! Let's get going home…" Ukiah trailed off, not finishing what he was going to say. Thinking for a moment, he turned to Hiccup and asked "Where am I staying?" It wasn't until this moment that Ukiah hadn't thought of where he and Kobaalt were going to live.

"Oh." Hiccup replied, seeing the same dilemma that Ukiah was pondering "Well, I guess my place! Until we actually get you a place of your own or whatever you and my dad decide, I think you should stay with me!"

Obviously not having too many options, Ukiah smiled as he graciously accepted his invitation.

"Come on! Let's fly before its dark!" Astrid yelled, hopping on Stormfly.

The others were already on their dragons, taking off and flying over the village. "Oh shoot I forgot that I have to take care of a few things!" Hiccup said, mounting on Toothless "I'll catch up with you guys later!"

Ukiah was already on Kobaalt, smiling at the turn of events. "Sounds good! I'll see you later then!"

"Definitely later than sooner" Hiccup laughed as he took off and flew out of the arena.

Ukiah was confused at why Hiccup said that. "Eh, maybe he meant the morning." Bracing himself the best he could, Ukiah launched forward with Kobaalt into the air. Considering the grim looking future, Ukiah was happy with his situation. For once in his life, he found a home.


	12. Chapter 12

**Tried a new format with this chapter, making the lines a little bit longer than just one line. Feedback appreciated about it, if no feedback I'll assume it's good. And if it is good, you can still let me know!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 13

Ukiah was sitting next to the center fire in Stoick's house. It was late and Hiccup wasn't back yet from where ever he was going. Kobaalt was resting on the right side of Ukiah, with his head laid down next to Ukiah. Smiling at his friend, Ukiah turned towards the fire. Stoick found them sitting on his front porch, because they didn't want to just make themselves at home without really having the owner even know about them living with him.

"Hmm, boy's late" Stoick said, after he finished his mug "you'd think that he would want to be home after the long trip."

"Well, I can see it the other way also, he could be getting some hours in with Toothless" Ukiah responded, still starting at the fire.

"Of course he would" Stoick said, rubbing his eyes, trying to fight the sleep. "Well, I have a big day, potentially few weeks; so I'm heading to bed." He then stood up and began to walk to the stairs.

"Anything I can help with tomorrow?" Ukiah called as Stoick began taking the first few steps up.

"Not at this moment, but will you be ready at a moment's notice? I may need you to further convince others." Stoick said, leaning against the wall.

"Of course, I'll be only a few moments away when I hear word." Ukiah replied with a somber face "I have one question, why did Murky give you and me a hard time? Hiccup told me he's normally pretty loyal."

"To be honest, I don't know why…I suspect it's just the gravity of the situation." Stoick said thoughtfully, then began going back up the stairs.

Taking in the information, Ukiah then called out a second time "Don't worry about waking me if you get up earlier than me, I don't really like to sleep in a long time." Stoick just waved his hand and kept on going. Watching Stoick disappear, Ukiah returned his attention to the fire. He was thinking about his dream, with a new idea in his head. Recalling what Tuffnut had asked earlier made Ukiah think of the possible Crev traditions. "What if they do appear to their descendants?" Ukiah asked himself. "What if that Viking was supposed to mean something?" For all Ukiah knew, he may have been on Crev itself! Realizing it was late, and that he was going to need to be ready for anything on the morrow, Ukiah walked to a corner of the house and fell onto a pile of furs and blankets. It was just like his cave bed, just not as rocky. Kobaalt also curled up next to Ukiah, covering Ukiah with his wing; almost wrapping around Ukiah. "Love you bud, good night." Ukiah yawned and then closed one eye.

Ukiah slowly awoke from his makeshift bed. Not being able to see anything because of Kobaalt's wing, Ukiah slowly pushed it away allowing a flood of fresh air to come in. Soaking up the change sudden change in temperature and air, Ukiah laid back down on his fur pile. "Kobaalt did a pretty good job keeping me warm!" Ukiah whispered, turning to see Kobaalt's head also under the wing.

Laughing, Ukiah pushed Kobaalt's head, which not only woke him up, but made him really angry. Looking around to see what was happening, Kobaalt saw Ukiah trying to keep a straight face. Roaring angrily, Kobaalt pushed Ukiah against the wall, pinning him. Trying to get himself away from Kobaalt, Ukiah pushed against Kobaalt's head. The laughing wasn't helping him as he was powerless in even moving Kobaalt away.

After a few minutes of holding Ukiah down, Kobaalt finally lifted his head, with a not so happy face, and looked down on the wheezing person, trying to get air flowing normally in him. Ukiah was still chuckling when he began to stand up. "You cheated, that's why you won." Ukiah said with a grin. Kobaalt just glared at him, almost daring him to say it again.

Shaking his head, Ukiah smiled at the angry looking dragon. "Come on, I bet we overslept thanks to your wing!" Looking around, Ukiah still didn't see Hiccup at his bed. "Stoick and Hiccup must be gone" Ukiah observed, seeing the fire in the center room barely alive, almost smoldering. "Come on let's go find Hiccup" he said turning to the door. As Ukiah was ready to open it, he noticed a white paper stuck in the crack between the door and the frame. Curious he pulled it out and opened it.

_'Ukiah, meet us at Gobber's place, the blacksmith shop, we have your saddle ready!_

_ -Hiccup'_

Ukiah was ecstatic after reading this. He thought it was going to be a few days before he would get his saddle, but now it was only a few minutes away! "Come on Kobaalt! Hiccups got a surprise for us!" He shouted, swinging the door open. This was definitely a good way to start off a day.

* * *

After a few wrong turns and asking other Vikings for directions, Ukiah finally arrived at Gobber's. Ukiah saw Hiccup, Gobber, and Astrid sitting and talking with each other; while Toothless was sleeping outside of the shop. Noticing Ukiah and Kobaalt walking up to them, Gobber called out "Oi! 'bout time you get here! We've been waiting for a good hour or so!"

"What happened? I thought you hated sleeping in?" Astrid asked with a smirk on her face.

"Thanks to Kobaalt here, I would have gone through the entire day! His wing covered me and made it seem like it was midnight." Ukiah huffed back, a little embarrassed at Astrid's remark.

"No matter, now I assume you got the note…" Gobber started to say.

"About the saddle? Yes! That's why I'm here!" Ukiah said smiling.

"Ah…I thought you were just here to visit us!" Gobber said sarcastically, pretending to be hurt.

"Well give it a try!" Hiccup laughed, picking up a saddle from behind a table. It was colored a flat brown, just like what high quality crafting leather should look like; with a lip on the back, creating a small back rest. It had stirrups as well, just what Ukiah and Hiccup designed so he could balance himself a little better during turns and climbs. Strapped to the front right side of the saddle was a quiver, already loaded with arrows. It was big too, just what Ukiah asked, holding at least fifty arrows.

"It's amazing…" Ukiah said softly, taking the saddle slowly from Hiccups hands. "It's everything that I imagined it to be. When did you do this?"

"Last night…I wanted to get it done so you can train with us as soon as possible. That's why I never showed up last night." Hiccup said putting his fists on his hips, looking at the saddle proudly. "Think it'll do?"

"Of course it will! I'll actually be able to fly with you guys and not worry about falling off!" Then turning to Kobaalt, said "want to get that rope harness off?"

The idea of not having the rope off thrilled Kobaalt as he began to squirm as to attempt to get it off. Laughing, Astrid began to remove the harness, while Ukiah and Hiccup double teamed the saddling. Within a few minutes, Ukiah was sitting on Kobaalt, adjusting the stirrups to fit his height.

"Feel good?" Hiccup asked as he observed the crafted saddle.

"It feels amazing…Come on, let's go fly!" Ukiah said excitedly "I want to test this thing out!"

"Hold on, we have a few more things to…present you." Astrid said, smiling mischievously as she reached for something hidden behind a wall.

"Ok…What is it?" Ukiah asked curiously and a little impatiently, not really sure what to expect.

Pulling out from behind the wall, Astrid held out a brand new quiver, almost an exact copy of his old torn one, just in better condition. "This should hold together a bit better than your rag of a quiver that you used to have" she said tossing it to him.

Catching it, Ukiah observed the craftsmanship of the new quiver. It was tightly threaded together, professional like; the straps were strong and it actually held on to the arrows instead of letting them sit in it loosely. He was stunned at the quality of it, running his hand up and down it and pulling an arrow out of it. It was truly a gift.

"That's not all" Hiccup said behind him. Turning around to face Hiccup, Ukiah's moth dropped. Hiccup was standing there with a brand new crossbow. It wasn't really the same size as his old one; it had a little longer stock and narrower arms. Ukiah gently picked the crossbow up; holding it like it was a newborn baby. He ran his hand across the smooth wood and felt the sturdiness of the arms. It was perfectly set.

"Thank you…" Ukiah could only whisper. He was overrun with emotions, trying his hardest not to cry at the priceless gifts that were given to him. "I don't know what to say or do."

"Well you could say thank you, and what you can do is use it by shooting any Thariin warrior that walks on this island! Not really difficult given your experience with them, so it should be simple!" Gobber said, looking at Ukiah smugly.

Smiling at the comment, Ukiah turned to Gobber and asked "Did you make this?e wow Did you do this?"

Well…yes, I did the crossbow, the only thing Hiccup can't really do, but he did the saddle and the quiver. All of that was him." Gobber said motioning to Hiccup with his hook for a hand.

Returning his attention to Hiccup, Ukiah dismounted Kobaalt and walked over to him. Not sure how to express his gratitude, Ukiah awkwardly extended his hand. Smiling, Hiccup grabbed his hand and pulled Ukiah to him, bringing his other arm around and held Ukiah in a brotherly hug. Ukiah was taken back, but realizing that this was how he wanted to thank Hiccup, Ukiah did the same. After a few moments, they stepped back from each other.

"All right, before ya get all lovey on me, go fly and get away from here! I got quite an order to fill with the coming war" Gobber said as masculine as he could, trying to hide the emotion behind his voice. He was obviously touched at the event that took place.

Smiling, Ukiah said "I have one more thing to do now…" He reached for his dagger, which he quickly realized he had left in Hiccups house. "Ah…well, I must be getting soft! I left my dagger at Hiccups house."

"Perfect time for my gift" Astrid exclaimed, pulling out her dagger "I want you to have this, your better with daggers than I am anyways. Plus you have a sheath on your saddle that needs a dagger; I think this one will do."

Graciously accepting the dagger, Ukiah observed the handle. It had a wolf's head carved in it, giving it a unique look. "Thank you" Ukiah whispered. Looking at his saddle, he then noticed, next to the left handle was a sheath, meant for an extra dagger. Smiling, Ukiah could only thank them in his head because of the emotion that was really beginning to show on his face. After a few moments of more pondering, Ukiah sat down on a bench in Gobber's workshop, etching something furiously into the side of his crossbow with the dagger.

Curious with what he was doing, Kobaalt, Hiccup, Astrid, and now Toothless who had just woken up, walked over towards Ukiah. Peering over his shoulder, they saw what he was doing. He was carving designs into the stock. Shaped like stretched horizontal oval, with an arrow head like V going through the middle of it. After brushing off the carvings, making sure that the etch had a sharp look to it, he flipped his crossbow over to the other side and began carving something else. This time, Hiccup recognized what Ukiah was carving; it was a head of a Night Fury.

After the few minutes of work; Ukiah held out his crossbow, inspecting the carvings on both sides. Satisfied with his quick handy work, Ukiah slung his new cross bow over his back. It was a little different than his last one, but he figured that he would get used to it after a times of doing it.

"Now I'm ready" Ukiah said grinning, also sheathing the new dagger into the sheath on his saddle.

Mesmerized by the etches, Hiccup and Astrid both looked up at him with questions in their eyes, waiting for an answer.

"I'll tell you later! Right now, let's go test this saddle out!" Ukiah said laughing, but only to change the attention away from him. Jumping on Kobaalt, Ukiah watched Hiccup and Astrid mount on their dragons as well.

After jumping in her saddle, Astrid called out to Ukiah "We'll follow! I want to see how much it helps, or if it even helps you at all! You know, the balance issue may just be you." She had a joking tone in her voice with the last statement she threw in.

"Ok, just try to keep up then will ya?" Ukiah laughed, getting lower in the saddle, ready to fly. "Alright Kobaalt, let's go!" Feeling his body being propelled forward from Kobaalt launching into the air, it didn't take long for Ukiah to utilize the stirrups. Already he was balanced and felt like he was one with Kobaalt.

Doing a quick roll, Kobaalt roared with approval. He could now do things that he couldn't do when Ukiah only had his makeshift rope harness. After climbing for a few seconds, Kobaalt rolled onto his back and then dove straight down. All the while Ukiah was centered in his saddle, his body ready for anything that Kobaalt could do. He was enthralled with Kobaalt being able to fly like he normally does when he's not having Ukiah ride him. Cheering and shouting, Ukiah was going nowhere, regardless of the twists and turns that Kobaalt made.

Hiccup and Toothless were right behind them, trying to perform the same maneuvers that Ukiah and Kobaalt were making. Having a little struggle doing that because of Hiccup having to maneuver his foot to control the tail, they ended up doing their own tricks, which still helped him keep up with Ukiah, which were equally if not more impressive. Astrid was just behind them, throwing in a few spins and twists of her own, maintaining the same distance that was between them and her.

After pulling out of the dive that they were in, Kobaalt began climbing again at an incredibly fast rate, using the inertia from the dive and moving his wings for max speed. Almost twice the height at where they were at before the first climb, Kobaalt leveled out for second and flew straight. Ukiah braced himself for anything that Kobaalt could do, but was still thrown a little after Kobaalt folded his wings to cause them to drop like a stone, but also facing forward; there was no dive to speak of! Ukiah, using all the muscles in his body to hold onto the handles and to stay in the stirrups, was getting dizzy from the tail spin. Down, down, down they went, getting closer to the square of the village. At the last second, Ukiah felt his body magically lift, seeming like he was just floating. After a few seconds of getting the dizziness away, he looked around at his surroundings. He was flying in a big circle around the center of the village with villagers cheering from the ground. Honestly, Ukiah had no idea what Kobaalt just did, and decided that it was good from the reaction from the villagers.

Hiccup and Toothless finished a dive that put them right next to Ukiah and Kobaalt. Laughing at the sight of Ukiah, who looked like he's been sick for a week, Hiccup called out "How are you feeling? Just watching you made me sick!"

Looking at Hiccup with a pale face, Ukiah replied "I don't even know what he did! One moment I was looking straight and then the next it was everything I could do to hang on for dear life!"

By this time Astrid was flying alongside of them "That saddle must have been the only reason why you're still on then!" laughing at the sight of Ukiah.

"It was! Because of the saddle, Kobaalt can do what he normally does, maybe even more." Ukiah said, smiling at Kobaalt who in turn smiled back. "I've never seen him do that before."

"It was definitely a sight to see! The village is still cheering!" Hiccup pointed out, turning his attention to the applause and shouting.

"I've definitely done better than that!" A voice called out above the three. It was Snotlout and his Monstrous Nightmare, along with the rest of the group.

"That was totally awesome!" Ruffnut shouted, followed shortly by her brother Tuffnut who said "probably the coolest trick we've seen!"

"I don't know…Hiccups jumping off the dragon and running on the land bridge and then jumping back on was pretty stellar." Fishlegs replied, balancing on his Gronckle.

"You what!?" Ukiah asked looking at Hiccup with shock on his face.

"Uh…yeah, I can do that with Toothless; it was way scary at first, but now it's a lot easier now." Hiccup said coolly, not wanting to show off or brag. "But it took time; I wasn't just good at it from the beginning."

"Whoa" Ukiah said, looking back at Kobaalt "We definitely have a lot of flying to do." To which Kobaalt just roared with approval.

Returning his focus on flying, Ukiah was about to pull Kobaalt up to begin climbing, when he heard his name get called from below him. Looking around to see who it was Ukiah took another circle around the village. It was Stoick, waving his hand and gesturing Ukiah to come down. Banking hard to the right and taking a sharp dive, Ukiah sped to Stoick with the others right behind him.

Pulling up and landing feet away from Stoick, Ukiah jumped off Kobaalt before he was even settled the ground.

Stoick, who seemed un-phased by the quick landing, began talking to Ukiah "Thanks for coming down, but I have some urgent news. You might want to sit down; you're not going to like it." He ended, leaving a small hint of regret in his voice, and then throwing in "You're all not going to like it."

Concerned now, Ukiah braced himself for whatever might come, while the others who had dismounted from their dragons walked up to Stoick, and asked what was wanted. After pausing for a few seconds, Stoick proceeded to say "The council has decided that…you are all not needed or wanted in the coming war."

This was blow that Ukiah couldn't prepare for. Not help the fight!? After all the things that Stoick had done for him, and he couldn't even help! Let alone with the fight that was all about him!? "NO!" Ukiah shouted angrily which took the entire group off guard, even Kobaalt. "I'll not sit and watch a murderer kill my friends! I'm not going to let him win!" he shouted even louder, spit flying from his mouth.

"It's not my choice! Murky rallied some other Vikings saying that you are all too young to fight other Vikings, with his supporters I couldn't do anything!" Stoick sternly said "They say that you may be dragon trainers, but if you get separated from your dragons, you'll be killed!"

Astrid took this a lot more personal now, she was by far the best Viking warrior in her generation, and was even competing with the adults. "That's not fair! We can all handle a weapon with great skill! We went through dragon training remember?"

"Trust me, I argued for you, but they won't budge on this…at least until you prove yourselves as confident warriors." Stoick said, rubbing his forehead with frustration. "Look I know you all want to help in the fight, but they do have a valid point; without your dragons, you would be killed. You all don't have the skill or experience fighting other Vikings. Everyone other than Ukiah here, which I don't know why you're included in this." He finished facing Ukiah "I know you can fight."

Thinking furiously to try and satisfy the ridiculous claims, Ukiah turned away from Stoick. "What is Murky's problem with me? Why does he hate me so much?" He rested his two hands on his head looking forward "How do I prove that I'm probably the best fighter in Berk…" Then an idea popped into his head. Turning to Stoick he said, "What if we prove them wrong? What if we prove Murky and his group wrong that we can handle ourselves?"

Stoick thought about this for a moment, and then said "Well that's quite an idea Ukiah, but we have a total of four to five days before the Thariin ships arrive; not a whole lot of time."

"But it's nothing new to us! We know how to fight; in three to four days, I can have all of us ready to fight other Vikings!" Ukiah said excitedly, seeing his idea work in Stoick's head. "It at least makes me feel better knowing I'm helping them learn how to fight!" He finished pointing to Hiccup's crew.

"Are you willing to take this task?" Stoick asked quizzically "You think you can train them to handle themselves?"

"Of course I can! I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't think I could! I've already taught Astrid and Hiccup how to use a dagger." Ukiah pressed "Let us try at least, its better doing that than sitting and watching you prepare."

Soaking in the idea, Stoick turned to the group and then said "If you want to help us, you'll have to train with Ukiah. No exceptions. I can't even guarantee you that you still can fight with us, but it'll be good for you regardless. Listen to Ukiah, he'll help you." Then facing his son and said "Do you want to train with them?"

Without a hesitation, Hiccup responded "Of course, the dragons may be the only thing to turn the war in our favor, ruling them out would be a major mistake. Why is Murky being like this?"

"I don't know it's not like him to be this way" Stoick replied thoughtfully "I hope this… difference won't last long."

Ukiah then jumped in, saying "Regardless of who's against us, I aim to prove them wrong." Turning to the group, he said "Everyone, go grab your favorite weapon and meet at the arena." Pausing for a second, he then continued "Prepare yourselves mentally as well; this will be more than you ever thought you could bear." With that, he jumped on Kobaalt and flew to Stoick's house to get his dagger. Everyone else split up and went to grab their weapons, trying to contain the excitement building in them. Stoick watched the group fly away, thinking to himself; hoping that the training would succeed.

* * *

Strogg was on his personal ship, the Water Cutter, with his two remaining champions. They were surrounded by fifty or more Thariin ships. After looking at his vast fleet, he turned his attention to a map of Berk on a table. Strogg was deciding how to invade the cliff plagued shores of the island, and wasn't having much luck. The only beach suitable for a landing of any sort was right were the village was at and the heart of the Berk ships.

Frustrated that they couldn't come up with a suitable plan that didn't involve a blatant charge to the beach, he stood up and walked to the side of the ship. Only days away from Berk now, and they desperately needed something to help put the people of Berk in a bind.

Ugo and Malke walked slowly behind Strogg. They didn't dare say anything for fear of suffering a similar fate like a sailor that accidently crossed Strogg, which resulted being thrown overboard with a weight tied to his ankle. Ugo, after realizing that the situation was still tense with Strogg, began to back up and review the map once again out of the countless times he's done so before.

Malke wasn't as bright as Ugo, and stepped closer to Strogg, which ended up being hit in the face with a force that he's never felt before. Rolling to where Ugo was standing, Malke just laid there and whispered "He's still in a bad mood."

"Hmm? Really? Didn't notice it" Ugo replied sarcastically, never taking his eyes off the map.

"Why can't we think of single strategy that can help us at least get one advantage? Just one advantage is all we need!" Strogg roared, throwing a barrel into the side of the ship, shattering it into hundreds of pieces. "Is Berk really going to be this difficult?"

"Probably harder than we thought, they have two Night Furies that we know of. Ukiah and Hiccup, remember." Ugo replied coolly, still studying the map.

This just resulted in another barrel being smashed, this time punched by Strogg instead of being thrown. "I am very well aware of that! It's the entire reason why we're sailing this forsaken sea in the first place!" Strogg stormed off to the other side of the ship, gripping the railing so tight that it looked like he was crushing it.

Un-phased by the temper tantrum that had the same force of a small hurricane; Ugo stared at the map with more intensity. He was studying an inlet on the north eastern side of the island. "Chief…what if we had a smaller force land behind them?"

"Great, just sail a ship into the cliffs huh? That'll be a lot of help." Strogg growled, still gripping the rail and staring into the sea.

"What if they set anchor in this inlet? Doesn't have to be close, they could row to the cliffs and lift the boat out of the water to preserve it from the waves." Ugo persisted "Allowing them to row back if needed to retreat, or with a prize."

Releasing his grip on the rail, Strogg sensed Ugo had a potential idea, which it had been too long since they had one. "So we row a third of the army in one boat?" he said menacingly.

"Not at all, we row the Dragon Menaces over. A single night we could have the most elite troops in position behind the actual village!" Ugo pointed out, drawing an imaginary line on the map with his finger. "My source says that the Berks are only preparing for a frontal assault, leaving their back completely exposed."

Studying the map also, Strogg stroked his beard. "Hmm…I guess it would give us that one advantage…who is you source?"

"A fellow friend, he's been among the Berks for a while now. He can be trusted." Ugo said confidently, standing up away from the map.

"Good, send him another bird with a letter, tell him: That Strogg is coming with the elitist warriors among the Thariin ranks, and that the inlet must be clear from Berk villagers." Strogg stated. "Use any means necessary to make sure it's done.

"Aren't you going to come with the rest of the fleet?" Malke asked, finally recovering from the blow he took.

"No, I'm taking the Water Cutter ahead of the fleet, we'll be in position when the assault begins" Strogg replied, not even glancing at Malke. "I need you two to lead the initial assault on the beachhead.

"Very well my chief, we'll get off the ship immediately" Ugo said, standing up crisper. He was going to be in charge for once, and Strogg wasn't going to be there to hinder him.

Nodding with acknowledgement, Strogg stared out into the sea, and then ordered the captain of the Dragon Menaces to ready the men; they were going to arrive in Berk two days earlier than the fleet.


	13. Chapter 13

**Alright...so...I'm taking a break from this story. My brain has just stopped and I don't have any "Umph" anymore. I'm not stopping, just taking a break. I think that this is a good chapter to kind of pause on. SO! here's the new chapter! **

**Enjoy**

Chapter 13

Hiccup and the group were all standing outside of the double gated arena. Astrid was sharpening her axe with a stone while waiting for the others to finish dusting theirs off. With the dragons being friends, there was no need to use their weapons, except for the occasional hunt in the woods, to which most of the kids never went on.

"Where's Ukiah? I thought he said he'd be waiting here for us." Fishlegs asked, resting his club on his shoulder.

"I thought so too" Hiccup replied, looking around to see if he was hiding or someplace where he wasn't visible "I guess we can go in and wait for him in there."

Snotlout was the first to make fun of Ukiah for not showing up. Walking down the ramp, he began saying "So were being trained by a kid who told us to come as fast as we could, but then doesn't show up on time? Hehe, I guess I'll be the man of the group!" Then turning around, walking backwards, said to Astrid "I guess that makes us the two best ones!" To which she just rolled her eyes, sending a loud message to everyone that she wasn't going to have any part with him. Entering the arena, the group looked around to see if Ukiah was anywhere near the cages.

A voice called out from behind them "You're all dead." Turning to see where the voice came, they saw Ukiah holding onto the ledge of the arena right above the entrance. In his other hand, was his crossbow. Falling to the ground, Ukiah rolled to break the force of the landing. Standing up, he slung his crossbow onto his back, a lot more smoothly than the first time he did when he received it. Amazed at how stealthy he was, Astrid couldn't help but feel a hot flare burning inside of her. She wasn't normally that sloppy with her surroundings, and that mistake made her angry at herself, but more at her friends.

"Lesson one: you're always in combat when a war is going on. There are no breaks, rests, starts or stops. When I said we're training today, I meant it from the very beginning. This is just like hunting" Ukiah began pacing side to side, with his arms behind his back "A Hunter's rules is just this, there are no rules. You seek, kill, and repeat. It's how we'll survive. It's how I survived."

"That wasn't fair! We thought you were going teach us before we practiced!" Snotlout shot out angrily.

"Really? Well ok then, Astrid?" Ukiah turned to her "Did you learn something just now?"

Her temper was boiling, not because of what she was going to say, but because of Snotlout being an idiot and ended up dragging her into his mess. "Yes, I learned to always be on my guard, REGARDLESS of who I'm with or my surroundings." She finished by staring down Snotlout.

"Lesson learned." Ukiah simply stated, facing Snotlout and then resumed his pacing.

Snotlout was furious for two reasons: one, he was made an idiot in front of his friends and two, the most important reason, it was also in front of Astrid. Drawing his mace, he shouted to Ukiah "I'll take you on right now! I'll show you that I can already help the war!" His mace was waving in the air as he shouted.

Smiling, Ukiah faced Snotlout and then said "Very well, if I land three taps on vital parts, I win; if you put just one tap on any vital part on me, you win. If you win, then I'll present you to Stoick and say that you're ready. Fair enough? Oh, and this goes for everyone here as well."

Astrid didn't like this at all. They were all dragged into something that Snotlout was sure to lose at. She had seen Ukiah fight in the arena, he was good. Even for a boy who just hunted for survival.

"Uh…can we choose not to do this?" Fishlegs asked, shrinking a little bit away from the crowd.

"No, I want to see where you stand, how you fight. I can't help you if I don't know where you're at." Ukiah said walking to the gate. Pulling the release, he closed the gate. Doing this action sent him into a flashback of when he was in the arena, causing him to step back a little bit when the gate slammed closed. Regaining himself, he turned to the group. For the first time he saw their faces; they were scared. Not because of the grim future, they were scared of him. Easing up a bit, Ukiah looked away from the group in shame. Getting the courage to face them again, he said "I'm sorry guys; I know I'm way out of character. I guess I'm just riled up because of Murky. I mean, I can't fight the very fight that's over me! I want to so badly fight for you guys! I don't want anyone hurt because of me. That's why I'm so intense right now."

"Ukiah, we understand that your mad, and rightly so!" Hiccup said, being the first to take a step towards him "We want to fight just as bad as you do, but we need to help each other, not scare each other."

Taking the advice as lashing for his good, Ukiah looked straight into Hiccup's eyes. They were resolute, with a goal. He saw the others had the same look in their eye as well. Relaxing a lot more, Ukiah could only say "Thanks."

"I still want to take you one!" Snotlout injected in, stepping forward as well.

"Oh, don't worry! I still stand with what I said before" Ukiah said, returning to all seriousness, but a lot less intense this time. "You want some instruction first? Or do you think that you can do without it?"

"Bring it on!" Snotlout said, flexing his muscles and grinning.

"Fine. Begin." Ukiah said with one tone. Grabbing his crossbow with his right hand, Ukiah swung it around and with a quick aim, fired a blunt arrow at Snotlout. Seeing it hit Snotlout's stomach, Ukiah smiled as he toppled over in pain. "Don't worry, I'll be using blunt arrows; arrows without an arrowhead and big flat end instead." Ukiah stated seeing the wide eyes staring at Snotlout, who was just getting up. "Remember Snotlout, there are no starts or stops. Continue."

Snotlout fueled by anger, charged Ukiah with his mace raised, ready to hit Ukiah as hard yet non-threatening as he could. Running straight at him, Snotlout brought his mace down with a little restraint as to not bring it down full swing. Ukiah tossed his crossbow to his left hand and then drew his dagger with his right. Doing a simple side-step-not-slash but poke instead, drew only a prick of blood from Snotlout as he charged past him wide-eyed and roaring. Back peddling away from the even more enraged Snotlout, Ukiah sheathed his dagger and loaded another blunt arrow into his crossbow.

"Ok, so you're just going to shoot me all day!?" Snotlout shouted in rage.

"Well, since it isn't the manliest weapon around, I thought it was suiting for this moment!" Ukiah smirked recalling the time when Snotlout made fun of him using a crossbow. "But for the sake of fun, I'll only be a max of ten feet from you with only my crossbow, no dagger this time."

Enraged by the new handicap on Ukiah, and the thought of being defeated by a weapon considered to be trash in his mind, Snotlout ran again to Ukiah, this time a little more slowly and at a slight angle. Getting ready to dance with his crossbow, Ukiah got into a defensive stance. One time while hunting, a wolf had gotten the jump on him. Not being able to draw his dagger out, Ukiah used his crossbow arms to hook and swing the wolf causing to lose its balance and fly a little bit away, allowing Ukiah to take a quick aim and finish it for good. The same principle was here. With Snotlout charging at an angle, Ukiah ran straight at him. For a second it seemed like Snotlout was going to knock Ukiah into the ground, but Ukiah, who was sprinting right at him, began to slide on the ground. Basically lying on the ground as he skidded past Snotlout, Ukiah held out his crossbow out and grabbed one of Snotlout's legs, causing him to trip and fall forward. Not wasting a second, Ukiah stood up and pointed his crossbow at the fallen Snotlout. "Want me to shoot? Or do you want to give up?"

Looking at Ukiah with disbelief, Snotlout stared open mouthed. Then shaking his head, said softly and quietly "No, don't shoot. You win."

Relaxing for a minute, Ukiah straightened out. Looking at the group, he then said "This is as real as you're going to get, you will be fighting real people who want to kill you. The Thariin are killers, only wanting to glorify themselves and will do anything to do it." Ukiah stopped to look at Snotlout who was still on the ground. Extending his hand, Ukiah picked him up and set him on his feet. "I want you guys to live. I don't know what I'd do knowing that you were killed because of me."

"That's why we're here Ukiah." Tuffnut threw in "We want to be able to kick butt!"

Ruffnut then spoke up "Yeah! We're tired of being told we're too little or weak to fight! Let bring down Thor's thunder!" She did a quirky move with her hands that just made her look ridiculous.

Smiling at the willingness, yet immaturity of the two, Ukiah said "Fine, but it's not going to be easy. You have to impress me before I let Stoick know that you're ready." Then turning to Fishlegs, Ukiah directed "If you don't want to, that's fine. But remember that you're not going to get good if you don't train."

"I know, I just want to see how you fight first" Fishlegs replied.

"Ahh…an observer" Ukiah thought to himself "That's a strength right there."

"Come on we're wasting time!" Tuffnut shouted, brandishing his spear "Let's fight next!"

"I'll take both of you on" Ukiah replied, gesturing to both of them "Think you can handle it?"

Scoffing, the two both promptly agreed to team up on Ukiah. "Only one rule change; I only need one hit on both of you to win. The same rule applies to you only needing one hit on me. Got it?" Ukiah said reloading an arrow into his crossbow. "One more thing, if you stay alive for thirty seconds, and your partner is dead, they can come back."

Nodding in earnest, the two both broke out in a sprint. At first they bumped into each other, trying to cross each other, resulting in a small fight between them. "I always go right!" Ruffnut yelled. "No, I go right!" Tuffnut yelled back. Just before Ruffnut was going to bring her fist into her brother's stomach, an arrow caught her in the shoulder. Spinning because of the force of the blunt arrow, she landed a few feet away. Turning to face Ukiah again, Tuffnut barely moved his double-ended spear in the way of Ukiah's dagger, doing an upward slash. Stopping the dagger for a moment, Tuffnut twisted his spear so that the end of it would clip Ukiah's side. Quickly jumping backwards and doing a backwards somersault to dodge the quick thrust, Ukiah readied himself for a second time, this time in a crouched position. Holding his spear with two hands, Tuffnut moved slowly in a big circle, with Ukiah moving the opposite way. After a few seconds of this, Ukiah realized what he was doing. He was dragging out the time so his sister could help him. Assuming that was Tuffnut's plan. Ukiah charged him, by bringing his dagger down into the center of the spear's handle. Holding the spear down with his dagger, and Tuffnut's hands still holding it, Ukiah brought his left hand and punched Tuffnut in the face, causing him to fall over backwards. Not wasting a minute, Ukiah jumped over Tuffnut and tapped him with his dagger.

"NO!" Tuffnut yelled, bracing himself up with his arms and glaring at Ukiah.

Smiling, Ukiah looked up just in time to see Ruffnut charging him with her double-ended spear. He was too late to stop her from rejoining the fight. Rolling to the right, Ukiah barely missed the thrust from the spear. Standing up and getting his dagger ready, Ukiah saw that Ruffnut was going to do the same as her brother Tuffnut; that was to wait for him to get back into the fight. Forced to attack, Ukiah in record breaking speed sheathed his dagger and slung his crossbow around. Reloading another arrow, he took aim at Ruffnut. Seeing that he was going to shoot, Ruffnut began running in a circle around him, making it harder to aim at. Losing patience because he could draw a bead on Ruffnut, Ukiah ran to her while switching his crossbow into his left hand and drawing his dagger with his right. Upon meeting her, Ukiah re-directed a swipe from the spear by hitting it with his crossbow; then opening Tuffnut's defensive stance, brought his dagger around, tapping her on the side. Without even looking at Ruffnut, who was yelling in anger, Ukiah spun around and fell to his knee, dropping his dagger and aiming his crossbow at Tuffnut who was just getting up. Waiting for him to get up on two feet, Ukiah fired an arrow that hit Tuffnut in the helmet, knocking him back down.

"That's it! I won!" Ukiah said, finally taking a deep breath of air. The twins definitely made him work for that one. Returning his crossbow to his back and picking up his dagger, he mentally prepared himself to tutor the two.

"Gah! He's just too quick!" Ruffnut yelled, throwing her spear on the ground. "There was nothing that we could have done!" Her brother added, starting to stand back up, rubbing his head where the arrow should have struck if his helmet wasn't there.

"No, there was something that you two could have done. When we started, you ran into each oth-" Ukiah was interrupted by Tuffnut who yelled "It was her fault, she's a klutz" This got a fired response from Ruffnut, which soon turned into a fist fight.

"STOP!" Ukiah yelled "That right there is exactly what I'm saying, that's what you could have done. Not fight each other! That's the strength that you two have! Working with each other! If you fight each other, it not only helps your enemy, but it hurts your friends!" Ukiah was a little livid with the two, but reigning himself in, he said: "that's what I want you two to work on, work with each other and not against each other. Promise?" Realizing it was like the same issue that he had when he began training them, he added "I promise the same, that I'll help you guys as much as I can without scaring you."

After a second of staring at each other, Ruffnut and Tuffnut both agreed to work on it, and then began to tell each other what they should do, causing a small argument again.

Shaking his head, Ukiah turned to Astrid and Hiccup who were looking at him. "Who's next?" he asked.

"I am" Astrid said soundly, as if it was a statement. "However, I don't want the rule that you need three and I only need one to win. It's going to be fair."

"Woooh! You're going to get it now Ukiah!" Snotlout jeered "Astrid is the best of the best! She can beat anyone!"

"I know, I've seen her fight a bit, she saved my life remember?" Ukiah growled back at Snotlout "I know she'll do better than you."

"Well why isn't she training us then?" Snotlout shot back, trying anything to degrade Ukiah a little bit. Then turning to compliment Astrid again, he met a fist into his face instead. Landing flat on his back, Snotlout said "See! She's good!"

Astrid was sick of Snotlout already, and then proceeded to step up to face Ukiah.

Without saying a word, she drew her axe, being the first to beat Ukiah at drawing their weapons. Quickly following suit, Ukiah slung his crossbow and took aim at Astrid. Seeing him aim at her, Astrid ran and rolled towards Ukiah, rushing his aim. Seeing that he wasn't going to be able to draw a bead on her, Ukiah brought his crossbow across Astrid's side, sending her away from him. Using the small amount of time gained, Ukiah slung his crossbow on his back and drew his dagger. He saw that Astrid was going to stay close so he wouldn't be able to use his crossbow. "Smart" He thought to himself as be prepared for Astrid who was getting into an attacking stance.

Circling each other, the two quickly strategized what they should do. Astrid knew that Ukiah was quick, able to side step or dodge anything. However, she also knew how he fought with a dagger, being taught on the ship allowed her to understand how Ukiah fought. Ukiah on the other hand knew that she had that knowledge of his skills, and didn't really have an idea of how she fought. But what she didn't know was that he taught her only some of his knowledge, not all of it.

Watching the two circling each other, the group was cheering for Astrid. They all wanted to see Ukiah beat at least once and Astrid was their best bet that that would happen. Then charging Astrid, something that he rarely did except with the twins because he was pressed for time, Ukiah ran hard towards her. This threw her off a little bit. Ukiah taught her to wait for the attacker to come, using defensive strategies instead of offensive. Trying to block the dagger from being thrust at her, Astrid moved her axe in the way. Hearing a ping from the metal on metal, Astrid struck at Ukiah with her handle, making contact with his left side and pushing him away. Then swinging her axe horizontally, she tried to hit Ukiah's chest. Using the inertia from the hit from the handle, Ukiah kept on falling back which allowed him to dodge the swing; and he then rolled back up onto his feet, getting ready for another attack. Seeing her axe missing Ukiah, Astrid went for another swing. Ukiah seeing it come, re-directed it by striking the axe with his dagger full force, causing sparks to fly from the contact of the axe and dagger. The force of the dagger was small compared to inertia of the axe, which only caused the axe to divert its course in a small way, but enough to make it move from hitting Ukiah.

Still seeing an opportunity to get Ukiah, Astrid kept on swinging her axe and moving forward, pushing Ukiah back with every swing she took. It was everything that Ukiah could do to just divert the axe. Every stroke with his dagger made contact with the axe, which still shot sparks at each hit. Getting closer and closer to the wall of the arena, Ukiah thought of a desperate move which could either make or break him. Shortly after diverting another powerful blow from the axe, Ukiah fell backwards as another swing went right over him. Landing on the ground, Ukiah kicked Astrid's legs, causing her to fall as well. Rolling over Astrid, Ukiah held his dagger above her, ready to tap her out.

Hiccup was watching with horror. Astrid was just about to win, but Ukiah pulled another one of his out of the hat tricks. Seeing that Astrid was sure to lose, he couldn't help himself but yell out loud and charge Ukiah.

Looking up to see where the yelling was coming from, Ukiah saw Hiccup charging him with a shield and dagger. "What the-" Ukiah was cut off as the shield was rammed into him, pushing him a good five-six feet away. Standing back up, Ukiah looked to see Hiccup was helping Astrid up. "You said there were no rules in fighting" Hiccup said quickly, trying to excuse his action "So I jumped in to help Astrid as you can see."

"Hmm…I guess I did say that; very well then." Ukiah replied, pondering the theory that Hiccup brought up. Then turning to the rest of the group, said "You're already dead, so you can't jump in and help" to stop the rest from also joining the fray. Brandishing his dagger in his left hand this time, Ukiah sprinted towards Hiccup, trying to finish him first. Astrid swung her axe again to have Ukiah re-think that plan. Rolling around them, Ukiah ended up in front of Tuffnut. In one smooth motion, Ukiah grabbed Tuffnut's spear out of his hands and then proceeded to swipe furiously at Astrid and Hiccup who were now on both sides of him. Pushing Hiccup away by driving the spear into the center of his shield, Ukiah diverted another axe swing from Astrid with his dagger. Yanking the spear out of the shield, Ukiah brought the other end of it right under the actual axe head, wedging it between it and the handle. Seeing it catch the axe, Ukiah lifted the spear and brought it around and down, leaving Astrid two choices, to either let go of the axe and be un-armed, or to have her arm twisted behind her. Not wanting to be defenseless, she held onto the handle. Astrid felt herself being twisted around and brought onto her knee, not able to move without letting go. Ukiah, keeping his spear where he still had Astrid down, did a spin with his dagger making contact with Hiccup's shield. Hiccup held his ground after the sudden force hit his shield. Seeing Ukiah exposed, Hiccup thrust his dagger forward and began moving it in a tapping motion, trying to get Ukiah's side. Ukiah barely got out of the way, jumping backwards. This made him lose his advantage over Astrid though, who promptly stood up and brought her axe in front of her, after being freed.

"You're making me really work for this one" Ukiah breathed wiping his sweat off his head.

Astrid was doing the same. Sweat was pouring down her face as she replied "This is the first real challenge I've had in a long time!" Then she turned to Hiccup, who was just standing next to her, who wasn't even breathing heavily at all. "Having fun?" She asked with a small laugh in her voice.

"Oh yeah, tons of it" Hiccup said sarcastically, rolling his eyes "I almost can't wait to do it again!"

Laughing, Ukiah then charged the two. Jumping in the air, he brought his spear down hard on Astrid's axe, which was moved to block the oncoming swing. Seeing Astrid stagger a little bit from the hit, Ukiah then brought the other end of the spear into Hiccup's shield, sinking the tip in deep into it. Trying to do the same thing that he did to Astrid, Ukiah lifted his spear up and tried to twist Hiccup's arm. Hiccup, mostly out of reaction, pulled his shield back, causing Ukiah to lose grip of the spear when he tried his twist. Seeing Ukiah with only his dagger, Astrid began swinging her axe again, which Ukiah tried to re-direct it, but the dagger was sent flying out of his hand. Hiccup spinning around to get the spear further out of Ukiah's reach brought his dagger horizontally across, while Astrid followed up with another swing. At the same time, both the axe and the dagger with their flat sides, struck Ukiah on his right and left sides, causing him to fall quickly to the ground.

Breathing hard and realizing what had happened, Hiccup and Astrid shouted at their victory, which was followed up shortly with cheering from the group and the dragons who were watching from outside, all except Kobaalt. Ukiah was sitting up now, thinking of what had just happened. Extending their hands, Hiccup and Astrid picked him up and off his feet. Looking with satisfaction, Ukiah smiled at the two and said "I think you two will do, want me to present you two to Stoick?"

"No, I want to train some more. I need to be better." Astrid said staring at Ukiah almost challenging "You really beat me when I was by myself."

"Yeah, I think I better do a little bit more as well, I would have lost without Astrid also." Hiccup said, rubbing the back of his head.

Nodding at their choice with approval, Ukiah continued to instruct and teach the group. Snotlout was good when he actually wasn't hot-headed, and when he wasn't trying to impress Astrid. The twins were trying extra hard to not fight each other which went as well as trying to mix oil with water, but they were getting better at throwing their spears; almost hitting dead center every time! Fishlegs was stronger as an observer, he and Ukiah agreed that he would be better as a passive fighter, identifying weaknesses in ships or group formations. Ukiah personally trained with Astrid, she helped him learn how to be more aggressive with his dagger, and eventually learned how to fight close up with his crossbow. He also spent his extra time that day helping Hiccup learn all of his tricks with the dagger, making Hiccup fairly more dangerous than he used to be.

"All right, I think that's enough for today." Ukiah called out to the gang looking at the darkening sky. "I think our dragons are anxious to go for a ride before dark."

Agreeing with Ukiah for more than the reason to just ride their dragons, the group picked up their equipment and began heading up the ramp, talking to each other.

"Remember, just after the sun rises is when we meet again, got it?" Ukiah said, following the group.

"Yeah, yeah got it" Snotlout said annoyingly

All of them jumped on their dragons, ready to fly at the given moment. Ukiah, after securing all of his equipment, jumped on Kobaalt. Smiling at the group, he said "Now I'm ready for my training. Show me your best!"

At that the group flew up high, all of them, including Ukiah and Kobaalt. Pulling twists, spins, loops, the whole list! They began tutoring Ukiah on how ride more smoothly than before. Learning that he could shift his weight in the stirrups to guide Kobaalt, Ukiah was beginning to show a much faster improvement with the saddle.

Laughing the group continued the flying circus above the village, unaware of a pair of angry eyes staring up at them, thinking of how to end them once and for all…


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys! I'm back! Here's the next chapter and hopefully I'll be a little more consistent, but you never know with life and all**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 14

The sun was barely breaking over the sea when Ukiah and Kobaalt were flying next to the vast cliffs of Berk. The immense mass of rock right next to them made Ukiah feel like he was back at Fallis Woods, his old hunting grounds. He hadn't been hunting for over a month now, and he was missing it. He woke up a lot earlier than Hiccup or anyone else of the group; just to be able to get a little more flight time in. Turning away from the cliffs, he and Kobaalt then began to glide in between the rock pillars; barely missing a few just for the thrill of being able to fly so close to them.

Ukiah guided Kobaalt to a certain pillar that he found from flying yesterday. He wanted a little alone time before the day started up. Landing on top of the pillar, he found that it had a decent sized flat rock on top of it, to which he promptly sat down on. Kobaalt, with a confused look, nuzzled Ukiah; almost asking what was going on. Rubbing Kobaalt's head, Ukiah stared out into the grey sea, almost reflecting what he was thinking. He never really spent a lot of thought about his past, but this war coming on was going to drag it out of him whether he liked it or not.

Closing his eyes, Ukiah brought himself to what he could remember on that day that ended his real life. There was smoke, lots of it. Imagining the shouting from all sides scared him, even when he knew it was over and done away. Struggling to try and get more out of his past memory, Ukiah furrowed his eyebrows with his eyes still closed. Nothing was coming. The smoke was the only thing that was really fresh in his mind. He couldn't get anything else!

Frustrated at the fact he couldn't learn anything of his past, Ukiah, opening his eyes, threw a rock off the pillar. He didn't even want his ancestor's knowledge; he just wanted his parent's name! He wanted his name! All his years he was always known as Ukiah. No title, no last name, just Ukiah. Glaring at nothing, Ukiah leaned on his elbows, resting on his knees. The announcer at the arena at Thariin was the first time anyone called him something. 'Ukiah of Fallis Woods', which bugged Ukiah because it wasn't really him at all.

"I guess this is really where my life starts. I'll finally become someone that other people will remember." Then slightly smiling to himself, thought "If I die in the war, then I'll at least be remembered by a few people as 'Ukiah, last of the Crev!" Even though it was a dark thought, it sadly brought him comfort. A nudge came from his side. Looking into Kobaalt's eyes, Ukiah's smile broadened. "Kobaalt will remember me at least; he's the only family I have." The entire chance of having a Night Fury as a friend really helped Ukiah cope with the past events and even his own past. He was sent by the gods to help him, this Ukiah had no doubt about.

Meditating for a little while longer, Ukiah then mounted Kobaalt. Checking to make sure his equipment was secure; Ukiah gave Kobaalt the signal to 'have at it'. Rocketing into the air, Ukiah was able to handle the whiplash thanks to his saddle. The sun was almost completely out of the water, and Ukiah didn't want to be late to the event that he was in charge of. Urging Kobaalt to go a little faster, Ukiah closed his thoughts of the past for the day.

* * *

"Ready for day two?" Ukiah sang, watching the group walk into the arena.

"Sure, just like I'm ready to jump off a cliff." Tuffnut said flatly, obviously still trying to wake up.

Hiccup and Astrid were awake and ready, with Fishlegs slowly catching up with them as far as waking up. Everyone was there except for Snotlout, which didn't really surprise Ukiah at all. Grabbing his crossbow, Ukiah announced: "Ok, so due to the time crunch of really two more days, I'm going to ask you to continue to practice with your weapons on your own time. Today we will all be learning how to use our weapons on our dragons. This includes me as well, as I have no experience of doing this. There will be a target hanging from a cliff, and all you need to do is hit it three times in a row; all of which must be hit in different spots and angles of attack. It must be three in a row; if you miss it once, you start over." Ukiah looked at the group and then smiled "I think it's going to be harder than we think.

Excited at the idea of being able to fight while riding, Astrid asked "So we can use anything? Like any weapon?"

"Any weapon; except your dragon" Ukiah replied "This training is for you, not your dragon. Although I prefer you to use the weapon that you practice with instead of one that you think will be easier to use."

"Uh…what about us," Ruffnut asked, looking at her brother and their Zippleback "what do we do?"

"Well it should be easier for you two then; you only have to hit three times total!" Ukiah explained, turning his attention to a shadow that flew above them.

It was Snotlout, who had dismounted before his dragon landed. Falling less than graciously, Snotlout landed hard next to the entrance of the gate, rolling down the small ramp. Standing up as he finished rolling through, Snotlout said "Totally planned that, I wanted to show you a new way to dismount!"

"Uh-huh, and a new way to break our legs." Ukiah replied, annoyed that he was late "Why are you late? I said right when the sun was up that we would be starting."

"Hey! I thought it was just when we were meeting!" Snotlout said a little defensively, shrugging his shoulders at the same time.

Shaking his head, Ukiah then told Snotlout what they were going to do. Snotlout laughed and said "Well don't feel bad when I show you up then!"

Ukiah didn't even reply to him. Turning to face the group, Ukiah ordered them to get ready and to meet at the cliffs just east of the village. "I still have to get the target, so I'll be a minute behind you."

Splitting up, the group went to the designated cliffs, while Ukiah flew to Gobber's.

* * *

Minutes later, Ukiah landed on the edge of the cliffs. Dismounting Kobaalt and walking to the edge, Ukiah threw a metal sheet off the cliff. It was attached to a rope which Ukiah put a rock on top of in order to hold it in place. Taking off again, Ukiah observed the metal sheet that was dangling off the edge. The cliff was inverted, letting the plate basically floating mid-air.

Flying up with the group who were circling above him, Ukiah asked "Any volunteers?"

"I'll just get it over with" Fishlegs said, balancing himself on his Gronckle. Slowly diving, Fishlegs held out his hammer. Approaching the sheet, he struck out at it his hammer. Upon making contact, the metal sheet started to spin. Fishlegs slowly turned Meatlug around, whacking at the spinning metal in a fury, trying to make contact with it but not having much success with the spinning. After flying by and swinging at the target, Fishlegs finally just hovered next to it; hitting it three times in a row. "All done!" Fishlegs said flying up to the group who had just perched themselves on a rock pillar.

Looking at him with disappointed, but not surprised looks, the group just shook their heads. Ukiah decided not to tear into him, realizing that Fishlegs probably wouldn't have made it anyways. "He has other strengths at least" Ukiah thought to himself.

"My turn!" Tuffnut exclaimed excitedly.

"No my turn!" Ruffnut argued glaring at her brother.

"GUYS!" Ukiah jumped in so that they wouldn't fight "Together guys! Remember that you have to work with each other to accomplish this! Ok?"

Nodding at each other, the two took off on their Zippleback. Flying straight to the metal sheet, Ruffnut got ready to swing her spear at it. Suddenly, she felt herself get hit from the other Zippleback's head. Seeing why that happened, she saw Tuffnut trying to swing at it as well. "Hey! You messed me up!" She yelled angrily.

"You were going to miss anyways" He brother quickly replied, swinging at and then missing the metal sheet horribly.

"Why you-" Ruff said, still fuming about the incident. She then rammed her Zippleback's head into her brother's.

"Gah!" He yelled, losing his balance "Alright that's it!"

The two rammed, grabbed, and punched each other, completely forgetting the goal of hitting the metal sheet entirely.

Watching from the pillar, everyone laughed at the fight; all except Ukiah, whose face was buried in his palms and shaking his head. This was exactly what he didn't want to see. The twins were now flying against each other, which was a sight to see on the Zippleback, who's heads were rammed into each other and twisted around. Finally settling down, which took a few minutes; the twins refocused on the target. Repeatedly flying by the target, it took them an extra few minutes to adjust to the speed they were flying at and timing their swings, they finally were able to hit it three times in a row; taking them about fifteen or so tries to do so, including the fact that none of them were in different spots.

Landing on the pillar, the two looked at the group with a smug look on their faces, waiting for praise. Ukiah just stared at them and then said "You know what you need to do." He didn't want to get involved with them now. "Next!" he yelled, praying that the next few would be a drastic improvement from the last two.

Without saying anything, Hiccup and Toothless then took off; flying down rather than towards the dangling metal. Pulling up at the last second, they cruised right above the water. "All right bud, let's hit from below." Pulling up, Hiccup readied his shield that he had. His dagger wouldn't be able to reach the target, but his shield would; plus Ukiah said that they could use any weapon, and his shield could be counted as a weapon! Flying upwards to the target at a fast speed, Hiccup lined himself up on a course that put the metal sheet directly in front of him. Putting his shield in front of him, completely obscuring his view, Hiccup waited for the impact of hitting the metal. Thunk! The sound of his shield colliding with the metal was just like as if a sword had struck it. Recovering from the blow, Hiccup turned to see what he had done while flattening out from the climb. The metal sheet was spinning ferociously at the sudden impact. "Good job bud! Let's go in from the side!" Toothless without even thinking about it, naturally rolled to the left with Hiccup also controlling the tail. Smoothly turning around, Hiccup went straight for the metal again, this time angling himself a little to the right of the metal. Hiccup extended his shield outward, making contact with the metal sheet; the force of the hit sent the metal sheet spinning in the other direction from when it was previously hit.

The others were cheering as they watched Hiccup hit the target a second time. Hiccup by far was the most successful of those that had tried it. Ukiah couldn't help but smile as he watched Hiccup pull back up, flying high. Then Ukiah saw Hiccup and Toothless stall out, floating in the air on their backs. After what seemed to be a minute, the two rolled and plummeted towards the target. Steering a lot further to the right of the metal, Hiccup swung his shield across, managing to put a decent dent in the top of it. Success! Hiccup managed to hit the sheet his first three times! This was a huge relief to Ukiah. After watching the last two, he was just horrified that none would be able to do this.

Landing beside the group Hiccup and Toothless stared at each other, smiling smugly because they knew they were the best at that point. The tie between the two was so strong and unified that it was the entire reason why they were able to fly so well. It was their strength.

"Good job guys!" Ukiah excitedly complimented "That was by far the best run as of now! Interesting use of the shield though; I guess if you can use it, then it's equally effective than a weapon or a dagger in your case!"

"Thanks Ukiah" Hiccup replied. Turning to Astrid he continued to say, with a smug like tone "Think you can match it?"

"Watch and learn" Astrid replied, almost unimpressed by what Hiccup had just done. Within that very second, she was already in the air with Stormfly. Holding her axe in one hand, Astrid was already next to the target. Bringing her axe full swing, the metal sheet reacted by flying away from the blow. Pulling out of the dive, Astrid did a half loop and rolled around, allowing her fly head on at the metal sheet. Swinging back and forth, the metal sheet was much more difficult to try and get a hit at. Timing her speed and the movement of the target, Astrid swung just at the last moment; allowing her to just clip the target. Angry that she didn't really get a solid hit, she flew Stormfly farther away from the spinning and swinging piece of metal; already showing wear from the few hits that it's taking. Letting the metal piece slow down a little bit, then diving at the target at an angle, Astrid swung her axe right to left. With perfect timing and her strong swing, she cut a good chunk of metal off. Leaving three quarters of it still dangling and spinning ferociously, the cut metal fell into the sea.

Astrid landed next to Hiccup, smirking at him, sending him the message that he was beat very soundly.

Ukiah laughed when he finally looking up from the splash of the metal. "That was perfect! I don't think even I can compare to that!"

"Yeah well I knew that you couldn't compare, even to me!" Snotlout said annoyingly, laughing at Ukiah while doing so.

"Well, you still haven't gone, what's wrong? Scared now that you won't be able to 'impress' as well not that Astrid cut your target in half!" Ukiah said challengingly.

"Oh yeah? Well I can knock the rest of that target out of the sky before you could even get up to fly!" Snotlout said proudly, extending his chest out to act even more manly.

"Is that a challenge? Or are you going to back down?" Ukiah asked, grinning slightly. He just set the hook, there was no way Snotlout would turn it down with a comment like that.

Slightly taken back, Snotlout quickly said "Yes it is a challenge! First one to knock down the target wins!"

"I accept!" Ukiah quickly replied. Turning to Astrid he said "You say go when we're ready, ok?"

Nodding, Astrid accepted the responsibility.

Both Ukiah and Snotlout prepared their weapons. Snotlout grabbed his mace and swung it around a few times to try and intimidate Ukiah, which obviously failed. Snotlout didn't remember that Ukiah saw men swing axes. At him. Ukiah, not paying attention to Snotlout, inspected his crossbow. Loaded with an arrow, he aimed at the target to get a feel for it. Finally synchronizing his body to the crossbow, he gripped one of the handles on his saddle with his left hand and continued to hold his weapon with his right. Looking at Snotlout, who also was holding his weapon with one hand, asked him if he was ready.

"Am I ready" Snotlout laughed "I was ready before you even showed up here!"

Not saying a word, Ukiah turned to Astrid and nodded to start them out.

"On your marks!" Astrid called out. Ukiah was focusing on the target, strategizing what would be the best way to get to it. "Get set!" Astrid's voice rang in Ukiah head. The world was silent; Ukiah was so focused on the target, that even the sea lost its powerful sound in his ears. "GO!" Astrid yelled loudly with excitement in her voice. Like an arrow, Ukiah was off the pillar; diving to the sea. Snotlout went straight for the metal sheet, with a slight dive to gain speed. Heading straight for the target, Snotlout smashed his mace into the corner of the metal, bending it in a bit. Doing a circle to get him re-aligned with the metal, Snotlout quickly glanced to see if he could find Ukiah. Not seeing him, he returned his attention to the beat up metal. Zeroing in on it, Snotlout suddenly jumped as a black flash flew up from beneath him! Looking up, he saw Ukiah flying crazily fast upwards. Shrugging at Ukiah's strategy, Snotlout looked forward just in time to have his face run flat into the metal sheet.

The group on the pillar laughed as they saw Snotlout recoil backwards at the contact of the sheet metal. Still hanging on, Snotlout lost control of his dragon; which took the liberty to chase a few birds in front of it. Taking their attention away from Snotlout, they watched Ukiah level out from his climb.

"Ok bud, same thing we did yesterday; except no spinning this time!" Ukiah yelled, gripping his crossbow and handle with a death grip. Almost immediately, Kobaalt folded his wings and began to drop out of the sky; falling flatly on his stomach. Ukiah was looking forward, seeing the landscape in front of him rise. Taking aim with one hand, Ukiah pointed his crossbow in front of him. The cliffs just appeared, along with the rope holding the metal sheet. Time seemed to slow for Ukiah as he corrected his aim towards the rope. Holding his breath, Ukiah held his crossbow straight; which was a feat considering he was falling out of the sky and aiming with one hand. Squeezing the trigger, Ukiah let the arrow fly. Time quickly resumed it's normal pace. Putting Kobaalt into a dive, Ukiah didn't even look to see if he hit his target. Pulling up right before the waves crashing into the small jagged rocks barely sticking out of the water, Ukiah leveled off Kobaalt. Turning around to try and find the metal sheet, he couldn't see anything! It was gone!

"Yeah, He hit it!" Hiccup yelled excitedly.

"That was amazing…" Astrid quietly said, almost as if in shock.

"Do it again! Again!" Tuffnut called out, cupping his hand around his mouth to try and amplify what he was saying.

Snotlout was staring at the sea where the metal sheet had landed in. He was in disbelief, but mostly anger. "You cheated! You just cut the rope, not actually hit the target!" He yelled at Ukiah who just landed on the rock pillar.

"You said to knock it out of the sky, which is exactly what I did. So no, I didn't cheat." Ukiah laughed "If you want, you can go get the target and set it back up. I'll challenge you again, no problem."

"Not with a cheater like you!" Snotlout spat back.

"Remember, there are no rules in fighting…" Ukiah said, his face growing somber.

"Come on let's go get lunch! I'm starving!" Fishlegs called out, trying to change the subject.

"Agreed, we're starving and I bet the dragons are also hungry." Hiccup said, petting Toothless.

"Alright, we'll go get lunch; but before we go, I want to announce our next training." Ukiah said, receiving a few eye rolls and moans. Ignoring them, he continued "I know that it's been rushed with the training, but we have no more time and we still need to impress the people that we can fight. This is the last training before we prove to the council that we are fighters without our dragons. This training is a wilderness survival." After pulling out a map from his saddle, Ukiah presented it to the group. "You will all start at separate locations, but must end at the same spot. You can meet up and work together, but I say again, you must start alone. I'll go put a red cloth at your individual spots; you must bring this cloth to the spot in order to prove that you started there."

"Sweet! Me and Hookfang will be first!" Snotlout said, trying to impress Astrid.

"Oh…that's another thing…No dragons." Ukiah replied looking at Snotlout.

"What!? That's not cool." Ruffnut whined

"You'll ride on your dragons to your spots and then send them home." Ukiah continued, un-phased by the comment "Ruff, Tuff, you guys have spots close to each other, you get to work with each other again. Hiccup, I realize that you don't want to leave Toothless again, and he can't fly without you; but can you ride with Astrid to your spot?"

"Yeah…sure thing." Hiccup replied a little depressed. He really didn't want to be away from Toothless again

"We'll be two days and a night, the only things I want you to pack is your weapon. That's all I want you to have. Meet at Gobber's after lunch and be ready to go, we start right then." Ukiah said, getting ready to fly "There's going to be a twist in it, don't worry about that…"

The group followed suit by getting ready to take off, wondering if this next event will actually help them be recognized as warriors.


	15. Chapter 15

**This chapter has a lot in it and was by far the longest one to write as of yet; however, I did have a lot of fun writing this one! OH! P.S. I just bought a kindle fire, so epic Fan Fiction time, keep writing your stories and I'll be more able to read them! P.S.S. I'm kind of working on another story that I came up with, so production will slow down a little bit. This is still the priority, but the other story gives me something to break too; and I don't want to forget the ideas in my head. I may post it while working on it, I may not. I don't know yet. Well, as usual**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 15

Ukiah was sitting on a stool, talking with Gobber when both Astrid and Hiccup showed up on their dragons. Toothless didn't look really happy with the fact that he was going to be separated again from Hiccup, his face being the main betrayer, showing the devastation that he felt.

"I'm sorry bud…" Hiccup said softly, holding his dragon's head in a tender way that showed that he cared "It's only for one night, and it's the only way we're going to be able to help the tribe…" Even though it was for a pretty important reason, Toothless just kept his depressed face, trying to do anything to stop Hiccup from leaving, or to take him along.

Astrid was sharpening her axe with a stone because of the wear that she put on it with the metal sheet. Watching Hiccup and Toothless, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the two. They both needed each other in order to really function. She shook her head at the events that were taking place. This wouldn't have to happen if Murky didn't have to be so stubborn; shoot, this wouldn't have happened if Strogg just let Ukiah and Kobaalt go to begin with.

The others began to show up one at a time, first Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and then Fishlegs.

"Hey, uh, Ukiah?" Fishlegs asked a little timidly "I think I'm going to pass on this."

"Why? What's wrong?" Ukiah asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Well, I uh, well regardless of what I do, I'm not going to 'pass'. I haven't done anything to help me show that I can fight other Vikings." He said strongly yet sadly "I think that I'll just stay here and not even worry about it."

Ukiah was a little disappointed in Fishlegs' decision, but couldn't' argue with his point. It was true that he probably wouldn't be allowed to fight with the way that he was performing. "Very well Fishlegs, I understand. Don't let it bug you anymore then."

"Thanks Ukiah" Fishlegs breathed a sigh of relief.

"So when are we going?" Ruffnut asked with annoyance in her voice.

"Yeah, can we go now?" Tuffnut followed up.

"Well, I'd like to as well, just that we have to wait for Snotlout because I'm not going to explain what we're doing twice." Ukiah replied scanning the sky.

"There he is." Astrid replied with an annoyed tone, pointing out behind the blacksmith shop.

The Monstrous Nightmare landed right next to the shop, causing a dust and dirt to fly up. "No fear! You don't have to wait any longer to see my face." Snotlout said confidently while dismounting, or falling off Hookfang, sure that was what they were talking about.

Shaking his head, Ukiah turned to the group. "Ok the sooner we get going, the sooner you can build a shelter, head to the objective, whatever you want or need to do. So here's the plan: On this map are spots designated for each of you to go to. You have to be separate with the exception of the twins. After you arrive at your designated spot, you can do whatever you want; meet up with each other, go solo, it doesn't matter."

"So what's the catch?" Hiccup asked a little hesitantly, knowing that this wasn't going to be a cake walk.

"Ah…yes, well the goal is to reach this area on the north side of the island," Ukiah pointed to a spot on the map "Without me getting you. The thing is, is that I'll be coming a half hour after you, with the intentions of getting you out. Kind of the same thing we did the in arena yesterday, just throughout the entire island instead of the arena."

"So you're hunting us" Astrid summed up.

"Yup" Ukiah simply replied, with a smile forming on his face.

"Great, we should last a good hour…" Astrid said rolling her eyes.

"Don't you worry Astrid, I'll protect you!" Snotlout jumped in, trying to impress her.

"Snotlout you lasted the shortest of us here when we were in the arena, I can't imagine that it'll be any different from then." Hiccup threw in, snickering at the memory of how fast Snotlout lasted.

"Shutup!" Snotlout yelled defensively, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

"Let's get going!" Ruffnut yelled, obviously getting anxious.

"All right Ruffnut, Tuffnut, get going; take the spot on the west side of the island. Remember to grab the red cloth; I set them all up while you were all at lunch. Astrid, drop off Hiccup on the East side of the island, and then go west from there until you see your cloth. Snotlout," Ukiah paused "You'll be west of the twins and north-east from here, go grab you're cloth. And try not to get killed dismounting from your dragon please? We've wasted enough time waiting for you so the last thing I want to do is find your body!" Ukiah said rolling his eyes, referring to his dismount earlier and the eventful one earlier that morning.

Everyone split up right after Ukiah finished talking to Snotlout, flying this way and that, heading to their designated spots. Hiccup spent a little extra time saying good-bye to Toothless. Astrid patiently waited until they were done, knowing that it was a tender issue with the both of them. "Don't worry bud, I'll be back soon enough, then we'll be flying high again!" Hiccup called out, mounting onto Stormfly and setting himself behind Astrid. That very second Stormfly took off and began flying to Hiccup's spot to drop him off. Toothless just stared in depression as his friend was flying away, more so taken away. Sighing, Toothless began to walk to Hiccups house and once again, wait out the time.

Ukiah also watched the group take off and leave; after seeing them disappear into the sky, he left to go prepare himself and to get something to eat, since he spent the last hour dropping off the red cloths to their spots. Ukiah smiled to himself as he walked to the Great Hall, because in a half hour, he was going hunting.

Astrid and Hiccup weren't very high in the air as they got closer to Hiccup's spot, skimming the tree line. Both of them were looking for a red cloth which Ukiah failed to mention where it would be at.

While Hiccup scanned the tree line, Astrid said "You know I was thinking about Ukiah and him basically hunting us. We won't stand a chance against him if we're separate."

Hiccup quickly replied "I know, I was thinking of how we were going to get to the goal without being found." He'd been thinking about the issue as well.

"We?" Astrid asked turning to him, a slight grin appearing on her face

"Uh, well, yeah! I thought that was what you were talking about when you said you were worried about being alone and separate from each other while Ukiah 'hunts' us." Hiccup said defensively, in case that was the last thing she was thinking of.

Astrid simply laughed at Hiccup and said "I know; that was exactly what I was meaning, I just had to make you sweat for a little bit."

"Not funny" Hiccup said a little annoyed.

"It was to me!" Astrid quickly followed up with.

Hiccup just shook his head and eventually smiled; the hostility that he pretended to have quickly evaporateds. He was glad that Astrid wanted to go together, because he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against Ukiah by himself. "We do have one advantage over him though; we know these woods better than Ukiah."

"Yeah, but he's a hunter, he's used to having to adapt." Astrid replied quickly "Besides, I think he's planning on us moving to the goal as soon as we can."

"So…what are you thinking then? We can't fight him really, and you're saying we can't run from him; so what do we do?" Hiccup asked a little dejected. It seemed like an impossible task.

"Listen let's meet at the natural bowl where you kept Toothless. We'll meet up and then travel together, I'm thinking of beating Ukiah at his own game. Instead of us running from him to get to us, let's have him just find us right out of the gate. When he gets near, we ambush him from where he doesn't expect!" Astrid exclaimed excitedly "Ukiah will never see it come!"

Hiccup noticed a red cloth hanging from on top of a tree, and said while pointing to it "I like it! I'll meet you at the bowl, don't take too long!"

As Astrid hovered near the cloth, to which Hiccup promptly grabbed it. Landing on the ground, she said "Hah! Don't worry about that, just don't get lost this time; I don't have time to find you!"

This dug into Hiccup a little bit, remembering his experience in Thariin, but then shrugged it off as he dismounted Stormfly. "Be careful Astrid, I'll see you in an hour or so" Hiccup said looking up at Astrid who was beginning to take off.

"Don't worry! I'll see you sooner than that!" Astrid yelled and then turned her attention to where her spot was supposed to be. Within a few seconds, she flew away out of Hiccup's sight.

Sighing, Hiccup brandished his dagger and shield and proceeded to walk to the bowl where he kept Toothless hid, doing so in a very slow and cautious manner.

Snotlout arrived at his spot in only few minutes from the time that everyone left. After finally finding his red cloth, which was sticking on top of the tallest tree in a grove of trees, he sent Hookfang away; then walking carelessly to where he deemed were the right directions. Walking under a few low hanging branches he entered into a clearing. Looking around, he shrugged and continued to walk through the very center of the clearing, noisily stomping down the grass. "Heh, I'll be at the goal at the same time that Ukiah well begin to leave!" he said out loud to himself, resting his hammer on his shoulder while walking with almost a strut. Suddenly a shadow passed above him, which disappeared just as fast as it had appeared, shortly causing him to panic. Ducking low in the grass, Snotlout looked up and had enough time to see the twin's Hideous Zippleback fly towards the village. "Hmph, I guess they're where there supposed to be, a little quicker than I thought they'd be." Snotlout huffed.

Re-entering the woods, Snotlout kept an eye out for Astrid. He originally planned on just heading to the goal, but he decided that Astrid was going to need his protection from Ukiah. He remembered seeing the map and where Astrid was supposed to land; to which he promptly began heading into that direction, noisily crunching twigs on the ground and snapping dead branches off trees.

An hour later, Snotlout walked into another clearing. Pausing this time, He looked around to see if he could see anyone. Confirming that he was alone, he kept on walking through the middle of the small meadow. As he continued to walk, he glanced at the ground and noticed something that really interested him. It was footprints, and not just regular footprints, it was only one foot print with a square like print next to it. It wasn't hard for Snotlout to figure out that it was Hiccup's footprint and prosthetic print, and if he could find Hiccup, he could find Astrid! Smiling, he began to follow the foot prints a lot more quickly, but this time trying to be a little quieter.

Ukiah was gliding through the forest like a ghost, quickly and silently. Berk's forest was similar to Fallis, back in Thariin. He was at home! He loved it, being on the hunt and tracking. He just walked into the woods and five minutes in he already killed two rabbits. "I'm going to eat well tonight!" Ukiah silently laughed to himself.

It was all he could to keep Kobaalt from following him. After the events at Thariin, Kobaalt wouldn't let Ukiah out of his sight. The only thing that really helped Kobaalt let Ukiah go was the fact that Toothless was depressed. Seeing that he might be able to help him, Kobaalt stayed with Toothless and just glared at Ukiah as he began to walk into the woods on foot, angry that Ukiah hadn't fully learned his lesson yet from being separated from him.

After Ukiah finished thinking about Kobaalt, he went back into hunting mode, rarely taking time to even think about the war that was going to occur because of him. An hour went by of Ukiah slowly making his way to the goal. He walked into the area where Snotlout should have picked up his cloth. Finding his tracks, he knew exactly what Snotlout did and where he was going. Seeing the tracks turning East, Ukiah determined that he went to find Astrid. Sighing at the hopelessness of Snotlout, Ukiah turned west; wanting to go find the twins first, which ended up not being too hard to do. Not ten minutes passed by as he heard a crunch ahead of him. Immediately blending into the trees next to him, Ukiah readied his crossbow.

Peering through a small opening in the branches, trying to see what made the sound; Ukiah heard a voice yell out: "Come on Ruff…it's your turn to carry the cloth…"

"Stop whining, it's not like your carrying Fishlegs!" another voice replied, agitated.

"The twins…" Ukiah thought to himself in exasperation. He had hoped that the two working together would help them move faster, but once again was proven wrong. Not only were they still fighting each other, they were going in the wrong direction! Angry with himself for allowing them to work together, and at them for not even trying to get along, Ukiah aimed his crossbow to where he judged the voices were coming from.

"You carry it then if it's not that heavy! I just don't want to carry it!" Tuffnut whined again.

"It's going to be harder to carry it when I break your leg!" Ruffnut yelled angrily, trying to intimidate her brother. This actually added to the fire of contention.

"Hah! If you do that, then you have to carry me! Since I wouldn't let you have the cloth then!" Tuffnut yelled loudly; proud that he trumped his sister in the argument.

"Why you lit-" Ruffnut was cut off as a blunt arrow caught her in her side. Realizing what was happening, Tuffnut ducked low, trying to make himself harder to see; which was too late for him, considering that Ukiah knew where he was without having to see him. Trying to crawl away from Ukiah, Tuffnut laid low in the brush and grass.

Ukiah quickly loaded another arrow while scanning the ground where he saw Tuffnut fall. Slowly walking forward, Ukiah saw some small trees being pushed around to his right. Ruffnut was screaming "Where was he!? That was so unfair!" Ignoring Ruffnut, Ukiah aimed his crossbow to where the source of the disturbance of the moving trees. Upon arriving at the trees, Ukiah saw Tuffnut crawling away, trying to be sneaky about it to. Smoothly jumping on top of Tuffnut, Ukiah drew his dagger and tapped him out.

"Where were you!?" Tuffnut yelled, hitting the ground with his fist as he looked up to face Ukiah.

Ukiah got off of Tuffnut, and replied "You guys basically invited me over! You were so loud that I'm sure the people back in the village heard you!" Ukiah was a little agitated at the fact that the two didn't know how he found them so fast. "Also, you guys ran into me! You were going East, not North."

"Told you we were going the wrong way…" Tuffnut said gloomily to Ruffnut, who just stuck her tongue out at him.

"Go home. Just go! You're out now!" Ukiah said, pointing south to where Berk would be "Make sure you stay facing that direction ok?"

"Whatever…" Tuffnut said waving his hand as he began walking to the direction that Ukiah pointed to, with Ruffnut following.

Shaking his head, Ukiah picked up the blunt arrow that hit Ruffnut from the ground, and slid it into his new quiver. It was mostly full of regular arrows, with the few blunts he used for the practice. Double checking his quiver, making sure the arrows wouldn't fall out; Ukiah began to head in a North-East direction, going to try and intercept Hiccup before he and Astrid would meet up.

It was easy to tell that they were going to meet up; they as a team were able to beat Ukiah, which would only make sense that they would stay together to protect each other. Ukiah smiled at the thought of the two; they were going to be fighting the war for sure, which comforted Ukiah a lot. Excusing his thoughts, Ukiah returned his focused on getting to Hiccup.

Snotlout was busy trying to find Hiccups tracks. After climbing up a few boulders to find out if he could see Hiccup, he lost where he left off with the tracks. Not being to terribly careful of where he was walking, Snotlout realized that he had stepped on a few of the tracks that he was trying to find. Frustrated that he wasn't going to be able to find the tracks where he was at, he walked forward to see if he could find some untainted tracks.

"The hobble can really move fast that's for sure!" Snotlout said out loud, trying to vent the anger that was building inside of him. "How does he move so fast?" Struggling to find the tracks, Snotlout gave an exasperated sigh and leaned against the rock that was next to him. Suddenly, Snotlout heard a small crack ahead of him. Sure that it was Hiccup who was lost, Snotlout went to investigate the sound. Out of nowhere, Snotlout felt a force hit him from the side. Sprawling through the air, Snotlout landed spread eagle on the ground. Looking up to see what hit him, he saw Ukiah step out of the trees, almost invisible to barely visible.

"What the, where were you?" Snotlout asked angrily, getting himself up off the ground.

"Right behind you, I was following you for oh, I don't know, the last half mile. You threw me for a little bit, I thought for sure you'd follow Astrid instead of Hiccup." Ukiah said grinning.

"Oooh…you're so low to do that, you totally set me up!" Snotlout growled viciously at Ukiah who quickly responded with: "Well, that was your choice, you could have gone straight! I went from west to east, and have taken you and the twins out already! Not bad for a lone hunter in only a few hours!" Pausing for a second he then added "Oh, I threw the rock that made that sound. Thanks for investigating it!"

"Why you little troll butt!" Snotlout yelled as he began to run towards Ukiah, who was more than ready for him. Letting Snotlout run hard at him, Ukiah quickly side stepped the charging boy and watched him run right into a bush thicket.

"Go home Snotlout, you're done" Ukiah scoffed as he watched Snotlout struggle getting out of the bush.

"I'm not done with you though!" Snotlout roared as he began running to Ukiah again. This time he went for Ukiah's legs, getting himself low to be able to get and effective hit. Just as he thought he was going to make contact with Ukiah's knee, a force hit him from the side, sweeping him away. Ukiah had used his crossbow to hit and throw Snotlout away from him. After Snotlout finished rolling, he quickly looked up to see Ukiah holding his crossbow, aiming at him with a real arrow this time.

"Go home, we're done here." Ukiah said with a voice that was calm, smooth, and firm; making it sound more like an order and less than a gesture.

Defeated, Snotlout began walking slowly back to Berk, his head hanging low and staring at the ground. He was just about to enter into a thicket of trees when Ukiah stopped him "Hey Snotlout…you need to go over that way…" pointing to the direction that Snotlout was heading the opposite of. Breathing a big sigh of frustration, Snotlout began to head to Berk in his new direction.

Watching Snotlout disappear in the trees, Ukiah turned to where he found Snotlout looking at the ground. Silently cursing Snotlout for stepping on Hiccup's tracks, he carefully brushed some loose dirt from the tracks. Being able to make out the square-like print from Hiccup's leg, Ukiah quickly found a few more ahead of it. Confused, Ukiah determined that Hiccup was heading in a North-east direction; different from what he had predicted. Ukiah guessed that Hiccup would go north while Astrid would go North-west. "What are you doing Hiccup?" Ukiah softly asked himself.

After following the tracks for a few minutes, Ukiah began to glide through the woods again, returning to the silent and deadly hunter that he was.

"They look just like us at a small distance!" Hiccup exclaimed excitedly as Astrid finished tying a small bundle of wood together. Astrid came up with an idea that they should make dummies to con Ukiah into thinking they were sleeping. They weren't really fancy, just a few twigs bundled together and a burlap blanket over it. Astrid put some yellow flowers at the head of hers to make it look like her hair. "I think it'll be good enough to buy us a small amount of time to get him." Astrid replied, confirming that the dummies were good enough for their end goal.

Hiccup looked around the natural bowl they were in. So many memories here; him training Toothless, Astrid discovering his secret…This was a good place to meet at. Returning his gaze to Astrid, who was busy finishing preparing his dummy, he smiled at the fact that she chose to partner with him.

"Well we're done here; all we have to do now is draw Ukiah to us!" Astrid said standing back and looking at her handiwork.

"How do we do that?" Hiccup asked, forgetting that in order for the plan to work, they need Ukiah to come to them. "We can't just invite him over…"

"Actually, I think we can. If we tell him exactly where 'we' are," Astrid said pointing to the dummies "then we can sit and wait for Ukiah to come down the only way in here!"

"I still have to ask, how do we get him here and have him think that's us?" Hiccup continued to ask.

Astrid looked at the sky. It was dusk, the orange and red beginning to mix into each other. "Well it's almost night, and what does night usually involve when it comes to camping?"

Hiccup thought for a moment. "A place to sleep?" He asked.

"Come on Hiccup, think a little more practical!" Astrid said, rolling her eyes.

Thinking a little bit more on the subject, Hiccup's head snapped up: "Fire!"

"Now you got it! If we just set a big enough fire for Ukiah to notice us, he'll just come here and see 'us' sleeping right there. Then he moves in to get us and then we get him!" Astrid said a lot more excitedly at the thought of being able to pull one over Ukiah.

Hiccup laughed at the idea and said "It's perfect! Come on, let's get some wood!"

The two quickly ran to gather some wood, trying to stock up enough to have a big fire stoked for the entire night.

It was just before dark. Ukiah was in a small thicket of trees with a small, smokeless fire burning slowly next to him. He was cooking the game he had killed earlier that day, just for the ability to cook and eat for himself; just like he used to. He was busy thinking of where Hiccup could have gone, since he spent the rest of the afternoon moving in the direction his tracks led, but had no luck. By this time he guessed that Hiccup and Astrid were already together, which was going to make it harder for Ukiah to get them both. "Ah well, they're in my arena now. I'm invisible to them" Ukiah told himself, trying to break the loneliness that he was feeling. All the years that he hunted and lived alone, it never really bugged him. Then the last month and few days of being near friends and those that cared about him made him soft as far as being able to be alone for an extensive amount of time. "Well, I guess it's good to be a little sick for friends, or at least someone to be with."

After eating his humble meal, Ukiah began to debate whether or not to go hunting at night. "I can either rest half the night and go early in the morning; Ensuring me to be able to catch them while they're sleeping. But then, I could possibly not find them and then lose the entire training altogether. Or, I could hunt all night with a higher chance that I will find them, with a smaller chance that they're asleep." Ukiah thought to himself.

Mulling through the thoughts, Ukiah decided to go out at night. "Eh, it increases my chances of finding them sooner."

Packing up his gear and putting out the small fire that he had, Ukiah began to head up a hill that was near where he was at. A bird's eye view might be able to give him the chance he needed to find them.

Upon arriving at the top of the hill, Ukiah took a long look around, trying to find anything out of the ordinary. Looking north-east, Ukiah saw a faint glow resonate from a small grove of trees. "No way…they wouldn't start a fire enough to signal the island where they were at! Would they?" Regardless of why they had such a big fire going, that was where they were at. Beginning to glide through the trees as he descended down the hill, Ukiah was planning on how to take them on. Reasoning that being extra cautious will only boost his advantage, he decided that doing a little scouting before attacking would be best. Smiling, Ukiah continued to creep towards the orange glow coming from trees.

"Astrid? How long has it been?" Hiccup whispered from his hiding spot behind a rock in the shadows. He was losing hope that Ukiah was going to show himself.

"Not long enough obviously" Astrid quietly retorted. She was getting a little short with Hiccup, even though even she was beginning to doubt that Ukiah was going to show. "Maybe he was a little smarter than I thought." Astrid thought to herself, not wanting Hiccup to know that doubts were beginning to form in her mind as well. "Look, one more hour and then we can go to sleep ok?" Astrid said, rubbing her face with her hand, trying to do something to rejuvenate energy back into her. It seemed the very rock she was using to prop herself with was draining her.

"Sure, I can do that." Hiccup said, realizing that Astrid was getting tired too, and he probably wasn't helping.

Little did they know was that Ukiah was there, just observing the two objects lying down next to the fire with burlap blankets over them. "They haven't moved, shifted, or even rolled an inch! No one sleeps that well on the ground." Ukiah thought to himself. He couldn't figure out what was going on with these two. "Astrid knows better than that to sleep in the open, I'm sure Hiccup does to!" Deciding to take a look from a different angle, Ukiah began to creep along the right side of the bowl, keeping his eyes on the two in the bowl and his ears focused to around him. He couldn't afford to be taken off guard, which was very possible with how this situation was turning out to be. From what he could tell, there was only one natural way to get in and out of the bowl, which also didn't add up as to why they would camp there.

Finally reaching the other side of the bowl, Ukiah was a lot closer than before. Carefully observing the two that lay asleep, he began to realize what was going on. There was a little yellow flower right next to the 'hair' of Astrid. "Oh…you're so clever…" Ukiah whispered with a slight chuckle as he brandished his crossbow. This was a real twist in the game, either they set this up to stall him; or they're near-by, ready to jump him as soon as he showed himself. Just to make sure that they didn't leave to get a head start, Ukiah carefully examined every nook and rock that was in the bowl. After a half hour, Ukiah was about to give up, and try to see if he could find any tracks out of the bowl; when he thought he heard a small shuffle. Unsure of where it may have come from, Ukiah anxiously waited with a renewed determination to find them.

"I guess he never saw the fire…" Ukiah heard a whisper, a whisper that he identified to be Astrid's.

"Yeah, that's the only thing I can think of" Hiccup replied

They were right under him! Realizing this, Ukiah slowly made way to the edge of the bowl, peering over so slowly that he thought he wasn't moving at all. The light from the fire barely gave him enough to see two silhouettes behind a rock. Seeing one of them begin to step out, Ukiah quickly aimed his crossbow. Focusing on the silhouette that was more exposed, he drew in his breath and held it. Just about to release the arrow, Astrid shouted: "Hiccup Lookout!" Dropping to the ground as the arrow skimmed his shoulder, Hiccup rolled on the ground to see what Astrid was so excited about.

"There he is!" Astrid yelled, pointing up on top of the ledge they were under.

Ukiah quietly cursed at himself for missing Hiccup, then without missing a beat, he reloaded another blunt arrow. Hiccup and Astrid dove out of the way, on the other side of the rock so that Ukiah wouldn't be able to get another shot off at them.

The ledge where Ukiah was crouching was still a good 30 - 40 feet high, to which Ukiah wasn't too excited to jump off of. Getting an idea to shake the two who knew exactly where he was, he stood up and ran into the trees behind him, making sure he made a lot of noise while doing so in hopes to deceive the two into thinking he went another way.

"I think he's going around us!" Hiccup said a little panicked, scanning the sides of the bowl to see if he could see Ukiah poking his crossbow out.

"We need to get out of here; we're trapped with him on top of us!" Astrid said, equally panicked; straining her head, trying to see if Ukiah was anywhere near them. So far their plan completely back fired on them, for they were the ones that were jumped.

Ukiah was listening to them, and then realized that he was going to have to stop them before they ran to the one exit in the bowl. Running hard to try to beat them to the slot opening, Ukiah saw that there was no way to beat them to it, seeing that he had to run around and all they had to do was run straight. Observing the large pond in the bowl, Ukiah broke through the brush and once again, jumped off a 30 foot ledge; this time in water though. Swimming with his crossbow still gripped in his hand, Ukiah quickly waded onto the shore. If Astrid and Hiccup didn't see him jump into the water, they for sure heard him land in it.

Astrid and Hiccup both were in the middle of the bowl when they heard a splash come from the side of them. Turning to see what it was, they were shocked to see Ukiah wading towards them with his cross bow raised, ready to fire. Astrid quickly rolled to the right while Hiccup raised his shield to protect himself from any arrow that might be fired at him. Ukiah focused on Astrid who was the greatest threat of the two. Taking a quick aim, he fired the loaded arrow at her, hitting the ground where her foot was right before she did a second roll. Astrid, after standing back up, sprinted towards Ukiah with her axe raised. Ukiah simply drew his dagger and sidestepped her charge. Right when he was about to tap her out, a force rammed into him from behind, sending him sprawling on the ground. It was Hiccup who had just run his shield into Ukiah.

Astrid, recovering from her charge, quickly turned around to face Ukiah who stood himself up in record time. With Hiccup and Astrid both circling him, Ukiah held onto his dagger in his right hand and his crossbow in his left. This was going to be a more challenging fight than last time he fought him.

Astrid then yelled "Now Hiccup!" and charged Ukiah with Hiccup quickly following her lead. Ukiah quickly rolled forward, escaping the vice that was set by the two. Landing on his feet, Ukiah quickly spun around and took a quick aim with his crossbow at Astrid. Firing his arrow, Ukiah missed barely because she completely dropped to the ground; however, the arrow which continued its course quickly found another mark: Hiccup.

Hiccup fell backwards as the arrow made contact in the center of his chest. "Oooph" Hiccup groaned as he landed flat on his back "Dang it! I'm out Astrid, get him!"

Astrid was now really panicked, Ukiah was equally if not more skilled than she was and last time she fought him on her own he would've won if Hiccup hadn't helped.

"You guys were smart with the fire to try and get the jump on me. I'll give your idea credit because that was probably the best chance for you guys to be able to last the longest." Ukiah said, taking the few seconds of a break to reload his crossbow

Astrid didn't even reply; she just swung her horizontally to force Ukiah back. Seeing that they weren't going to talk until it was over, Ukiah quickly brought his crossbow across to make contact with Astrid's axe handle which was coming around for another. Holding her axe in place, Ukiah swung his dagger around, hitting Astrid in the side with the blunt side of the dagger.

Losing her balance because of the strike on her side and her axe being held up by Ukiah's crossbow, Astrid fell on her side rather hard. Recovering from her fall, Astrid looked up to see Ukiah holding his hand out, ready to pull her up. Accepting the extended hand, Astrid said with agitation in her voice and pointing to the two dummies lying next to the fire: "Gah! How did you know that wasn't us?"

Ukiah laughed when he saw the angry expression on Astrid's face. "I was probably circling around the bowl for about an hour, watching…you" Ukiah slightly paused when he face the two dummies lying on the ground. "After not even stirring or shifting an inch I figured that you were either waiting for me or already gone. I just waited to see if you were still here, which by chance I ended up right on top of you!"

Astrid's angry face was quickly replaced with grief as let her shoulders drop and rolled her head back. It was luck…bad luck on her end of the deal.

Hiccup then threw in a question he had in his mind: "you said earlier that this plan gave us the best chance to last the longest; are we not the last ones?"

"Oh no, I got the others out within a few hours! No one was close to the goal, you guys being the closest." Ukiah quickly replied, his face returning to a more serious tone. He was a disappointed in the others with their performance. Hiccup and Astrid though did something that threw even him off. The wanted to fight in order to survive, which is exactly what needs to happen with the war that was going to occur.

"You guys definitely will be allowed to fight! If they don't let you, then we've lost the battle before it even started." Ukiah said, sitting on a rock beside him.

"Tell me honestly, do you think we can win?" Astrid asked, following suit by setting herself on another rock "I mean Strogg is the leader of the strongest tribe known! And we're not that big ourselves, do we honestly have a chance against them?"

Hiccup also added with "They also shot down Kobaalt when he attacked them back at Thariin. What will stop them from doing it to our dragons here?"

Ukiah didn't reply immediately; this was a tough question. Did he think that they would win? Of course he did; did he think that it wasn't going to be hard and involve a lot of deaths? No, in fact he tried not to think of the potential loss to Berk. Finally, after thinking for a few more moments, Ukiah said: "Of course I think we can win…do I think it'll be as easy as our trainings? Not at all. In fact I think that them not letting us fight is worse than not letting us fight, of course you guys already know that. As far as us fighting someone that's stronger and bigger than us, we can do it. Kobaalt and I took on almost the entire Thariin Guard by ourselves, with the exception of you helping us a bit. But I think that's the key. It's the will to fight, plus friends with similar goals. That's the only way we survived the arena. The fact that dragons can be shot down like Kobaalt, well that was at their homeland; here they have to bring their catapults and construct them, all the while our catapults and dragons are pounding them and harassing them. That what I believe."

Astrid and Hiccup both nodded in agreement. The key to winning was definitely going to working together. Smiling, Hiccup then said "I think it's definitely going to be fight that's going to be remembered…"

Ukiah quickly replied with "Just like your battle with the Green Death. This one will be remembered regardless of the outcome. No one is going to hide this from the world.

Rejuvenated by the past few comments, all three of them began to make way to go home. They figured it would be better to get home as soon as possible, and that Ukiah could teach them how to move through the woods a lot quieter. Leaving the dying fire, the three weren't very far from it when they hear a snap of a branch. Freezing in place, Ukiah turned to where the sound was, raising his crossbow with a real arrow loaded. After staring in the dark for a few seconds a silhouette appeared to be heading straight to the fire, passing them without noticing the three with their weapons at the ready.

"Who is that?" Hiccup whispered, squinting his eyes to try and make out the figure.

"I don't know, but so help me if it's Snotlout…" Ukiah whispered back, but in an angrier tone.

"I don't think it's Snotlout, he's too thin…" Astrid observed, staying still like the other two.

The figure stared down into the bowl, as if trying to figure out something. Then it hit Ukiah. "We didn't take apart the dummies did we?" He asked.

"I didn't" Astrid replied quickly, staring at Hiccup who just shook his head.

The figure then began to back up slowly as if not wanting to wake the two 'sleeping' people. Making sure the he was a good distance from the bowl; the figure began to go farther into the woods.

"Change in plans guys, were going to follow that person." Ukiah said, beginning to crouch and make way the same direction that the figure went. Astrid and Hiccup quickly followed, trying to be as quiet as Ukiah was.

After a half hour of tracking, the three found their figure, standing on top of a cliff looking over the sea. Whoever it was, they were holding a walking stick and a little hunched over; and then it hit Ukiah. "Is that…Murky?" he asked, taking a second look just to assure himself.

"I think your right!" Hiccup replied with shock all over his face "What's he doing here?"

"I think we're going to find out" Astrid said, pointing to the right of them as a torch began to come into view.

As the man with the torch approached Murky, the three heard: "Are you Murky? Ugo's friend?"

"Yes I am…" Murky replied, slightly bowing himself to the figure "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Strogg the Stone."


	16. Chapter 16

**Ok here's another chapter! I seriously doubt I'm a perfect writer, so let me know what I can improve on! This was a fun chapter to write, hope you enjoy it as well!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 16

Seeing the two conversing made Ukiah's blood boil under his skin. Even though it was highly disturbing to see Murky talking with the enemy, it answered a lot of questions. If he could stop the dragons from helping out in battle, Strogg's army would have no problem conquering Berk.

"I can't believe that Murky is a traitor!" Hiccup gasped, whispering so quietly that Ukiah had to put together what he actually said in his mind.

"Let's get them Ukiah; we need to take Murky to Stoick!" Astrid said, gripping her axe in her hand. Just from the tone and the way she presented herself, Ukiah could tell that she was equally mad as he was, if not more so.

"Hold on…I don't think that's a good idea right now…" Ukiah whispered, straining to hear what Murky and the Dragon Menace were talking about.

Indicating to be quiet, Ukiah closed his eyes to focus on what was being said.

"The dragons won't be a problem will they?" The leader asked urgently.

"It'll be too late for them and their riders to be able to do anything. They're too busy 'proving' themselves that they can handle themselves in battle. Ukiah himself is also pulled into it, rendering him useless." Murky laughed. Since his plan to discredit Ukiah failed, he changed his goal to simply keeping him too busy to really prepare to fight.

"I see…" The Menace replied thoughtfully "Well then, here are your orders: Go to the top of the center mountain and light a signal fire. The fleet that should arrive here tonight; once they see the signal they will begin the invasion. We will wait exactly a half hour after the initial signal and attack from behind. Do you understand exactly what you need to do?"

"Yes I do. You'll see a fire burn brightly on top of the central mountain. What do you need me to after that?" Murky asked.

"Stay up there until the battle is over. That will probably be the best protection for you." The Menace replied simply, hinting also that they didn't want Murky to be in the way.

Nodding in acknowledgement, Murky began to turn to go into the woods, but was stopped by the Menace who quickly added: "If you see anyone from your village, kill them. We can't take any chances with this being foiled." Murky once again nodded and trudged off into the trees.

The Menace watched for a few seconds and then turned to go the way he came. After what seemed to be an eternity, Hiccup, Astrid, and Ukiah finally broke the silence.

"What are we going to do? By the time we get to Berk, it'll be too late to really do anything about the attack from behind!" Hiccup exclaimed, wide eyed at the new information.

"We stop them from attacking." Ukiah replied "They have no idea about us, even Murky who may try to go kill you two who are 'sleeping' back in the bowl. That will stall him for a little bit."

"You want us to stop Murky then?" Astrid asked, holding her axe at the ready.

"Yes, do whatever it takes to stop Murky from starting that fire. Even if you have to kill him." Ukiah said, making sure they understood what they may need to do.

Hiccup swallowed hard. This was the beginning of what they were training for, and that same feeling of inadequacy was coming back. He really wasn't much without Toothless.

Astrid was the first to reply to Ukiah's comment. "We'll do what we have to."

Ukiah stared at them with a look of worry on his face. "The trainings don't matter anymore. They weren't even required for us! It was all made up. Prove it to Stoick that you are ready by doing what you have to regardless…"

"Aren't you coming with us Ukiah?" Astrid asked quickly, a little startled at the thought.

"No, I'm going to stay and harass these 'Menaces' If I can kill at least 10 of them, I'll consider it a success." Ukiah said, turning to the path that the Menace took. "That will shake them quite a bit! Plus, I might have a shot at Strogg. I have the potential to end this before it even starts."

Hiccup wanted to protest Ukiah going by himself, but saw the logic that he presented. Plus, Ukiah would never pass up on an opportunity to take out Strogg. Nodding Hiccup then replied "We understand Ukiah, do what you need to, but please be careful! Even Kobaalt won't be able to help you if you're caught or if you…." Hiccups voice trailed off. He didn't want to even think of Ukiah getting killed.

Ukiah put his hand on Hiccups shoulder and gave a small squeeze to it. "Don't worry about me Hiccup. They won't even see me. You two just focus on Murky. If he lights that signal then we're all in trouble."

Nodding furiously, Hiccup began to walk into the woods. Astrid quickly walked up to Ukiah; staring at him for a second, she quickly kissed him on the cheek. Hiccup watched wide-eyed at the action. Ukiah himself was taken back. Holding his hand on his cheek Ukiah just stared back at her, not sure of what to do.

"If you're not careful, Strogg will be the least of your problems!" Astrid said glaring at Ukiah, sealing the threat that she made. Turning to Hiccup, ignoring what she just did, she said "Let's get going Hiccup, Murky is getting away from us!"

Both Hiccup and Astrid simultaneously turned and quickly disappeared into the woods. Ukiah could hear them whisper at each other, obviously talking about the event that took place. Smiling slightly, Ukiah then turned his focus to where the Dragon Menace disappeared to. Creeping to the edge of the cliff that Murky was standing on, he saw the ship that Ugo had used to catch up to Stoick when they were sailing away from Thariin, anchored in a small bay. Ukiah saw the torch of the Menace walking down a small path that zig zagged down the cliff face towards a small camp with dimly lit fires scattered around. Not wanting to go down the way that was the main route that was used by Strogg and his men, Ukiah began to scale down the cliff face slowly and cautiously, not wanting to give any type of hint that someone might be there.

After about 15 minutes of scaling, Ukiah was halfway from the top of the cliff and from the camp. Resting himself against a rock which also helped conceal him from the Menace's that were standing around the tents, Ukiah observed the patrol paths and timing of the watchmen. Ukiah was also trying to spot anything that would hint to him where Strogg was at. Unfortunately all the tents were the same, not a single one indicated that Strogg was in one or not. Sighing to try and vent the frustration that was building inside of him, Ukiah closed his eyes to refocus himself to accomplish his primary goal: Kill a few of the dragon Menaces.

Drawing his crossbow, still loaded with a real arrow, Ukiah aimed at a Menace that was standing alone with his back turned to Ukiah, overlooking the ship on a ledge. Holding his breath, Ukiah squeezed the trigger and sent the broad head arrow into the back of the Menace. Ukiah couldn't hear anything come from the Menace as he watched him tumble into the bay. The splash caught two other Menaces' attention, causing them to walk towards the source of the sound. Noticing that the posted Menace was gone, the two drew there weapons and began to search around for him. By this time, Ukiah already had an arrow loaded and ready to go. Making sure that another arrow was close by for him to be able to reload quicker, Ukiah took aim at the Menace to the right. Holding his breath again, Ukiah sent another arrow into the stomach of the Menace. As the Menace fell backwards into the bay, the other Menace was looking around frantically, trying to see what was happening. Before he could yell or raise the alarm, a second arrow caught him in the throat. Ukiah heard the third splash and reloaded another arrow. This time, he began to move to the right to lose any potential threat and to give him another view of the camp. His mind quickly crossed the thought of how Astrid and Hiccup were doing with their mission.

Murky was scared to death. He had just finished scattering the twigs that were used to make the dummies that Hiccup and Astrid had made. Looking around frantically, he began to quickly make his way out of the bowl. Gripping his staff like walking stick to try and comfort him, Murky looked around nervously. "Where did these dummies come from? Is Astrid and Hiccup watching me now? Are they even out here?" He frantically thought to himself. The questions wouldn't stop flowing into his mind. If Hiccup and Astrid were out here with him, then did they see him talk to the dragon Menace leader? Do they know of the plan? Are they on their way to tell Stoick now?

Moving quickly and a lot more loudly because he was a lot more panicked now, Murky began to move up the mountain in the center of Berk. While destroying the dummies out of anger, he kept one of the bundles to be able to light the fire. The closer he got to the top, the calmer Murky began to be. "Even if they do know about the plan, they'll be too late to do anything about it. The invasion will have begun and Strogg and his men will be coming from behind shortly after." Murky chuckled as he continued to hike up the mountain. Keeping his pace relatively quick, quick for his age, Murky saw the perfect place to set up the signal fire. Next to a cliff face overlooking the island and the sea, the fleet and Strogg's group would both be able to see the signal. Smirking now, Murky dropped the bundle of branches at the spot he deemed to be where the fire would be. After setting his staff down, Murky began stacking the wood in a teepee shape. As Murky was about to light the fire and set the signal, a rock flew out of nowhere and smashed into the small teepee structure of the branches. Shocked, Murky quickly looked around to see who had thrown it and to his horror, he saw Astrid and Hiccup emerging out of some bushes to the right of him.

"Stop right there Murky!" Hiccup said out loud with raised shield and drawn dagger.

"Wha-What are you two doing here!?" Murky stammered. His former anxiousness returned instantly at the sight of the two. "I'm just trying to make a fire to-"

Astrid quickly cut him off with "To signal the Thariin fleet to attack! We know your plan Murky, and you're going to be coming with us instead!" She reaffirmed her statement by holding her axe in a position to attack.

Realizing that they knew exactly what he was supposed to do, Murky began moan. "Oh…oh…no…" He buried his face in his hands. "Please have mercy…don't hurt me…" he continued moaning, almost whining.

Astrid relaxed a little, but never put her axe down. Hiccup sheathed his dagger, holding his shield close to him. "This will be easier than I expected." Hiccup thought to himself.

Astrid then ordered Murky to walk in front of them. Nodding gloomily, Murky said "Yes of course…just let me get my walking staff please? This old man can't move around as well without it."

Nodding, Astrid gestured to go pick it up. Thanking her, he walked slowly over and picked it up off the ground. Still looking like he was going to die of depression, Murky began to walk towards them.

Hiccup was really disturbed now. While they were watching him when they were hidden, Murky moved around just fine without his staff. Also, he wasn't even acting like he normally does. Watching him get nearer to them, Hiccup took a small step back, and rested his hand on his dagger. Astrid then spoke up: "Can't you hurry it up? You hiked up this mountain like it was a small hill!" Her anger was voiced through the tone that she spoke with.

"Astrid I thi-" Hiccup began to say.

Turning to see what Hiccup was going say, Astrid took her attention off Murky. Suddenly Hiccup saw Murky leap toward Astrid his staff raised above him.

"Astrid! Look out!" Hiccup shouted rushing forward to try and stop Murky.

He was too late. Hiccup watched Astrid turn to see what was happening at the same time that Murky's staff crashed over her head. Watching her fall lifelessly to the ground, Hiccup couldn't run to help her because Murky was already charging him. Seeing the staff raised again, Hiccup raised his shield in time to block the blow that came. Pushing the old man away and drawing his dagger, Hiccup circled around Murky.

"You actually thought I'd give up that easily! Hah! I'll die before giving up!" Murky laughed with a hint of madness and happiness "And you don't have your pet dragon to help you now!"

Hiccup just stared at him wide eyed, and then glanced at the unconscious Astrid lying on the ground. Events took a turn for the worst.

Ukiah sent another arrow into a Menace that was coming out of his tent. "That's five!" Ukiah whispered out loud to himself. The camp was getting loud now. After killing one Menace that was sitting next to a fire, Ukiah didn't expect the Menace to actually fall into the fire. After burning for a few minutes, the smell and flames began to alert the other Menaces. After moving to his new spot, Ukiah was a lot closer to the path that lead up to the top of the cliff. This was good considering he was going to need a quicker escape route now.

Realizing his time of preying on the Dragon Menaces was up; Ukiah began to make his way up the path. After two switchbacks of going up, Ukiah looked back to see the camp one more time. This time the fires were bigger fires and torches lit. Menaces were frantically looking for those whom had been killed, and also the person responsible. Then to his horror, there was a group of six Menaces running up the path towards where he was hiding. Forgetting the camp, Ukiah began to silently jog up the path. With rock cliffs on both sides of the path, Ukiah couldn't really go off the side without alerting the group below him where he was at.

Beginning to hear the group behind him now, Ukiah went from a jog to a sprint. As he did this, he knew he gave his position away to his pursuers because he could hear them a lot more loudly now as they followed at a faster rate.

"I think I hear something up ahead!" One of the Menaces shouted "Move it!"

Blood pumping, Ukiah bolted up the rocky switchbacks, not even taking a second to look back to see if he find his pursuers. Not too far from where it lead into the woods, Ukiah picked up his pace to try and give him small lead in order for him to be able to hide. This wasn't the arena, or the streets of Thariin; this was Ukiah's territory, and he could be invisible as soon as he got into the trees. Breaking over the peak of the trail, the trees were only a good 20 feet away from him. Smiling, he entered the forest, slowing down and becoming silent. No sooner had he stepped in the trees, the Menaces arrived on top of the path. Sliding silently into a thicket of trees, Ukiah readied his crossbow.

"Are you sure you heard something captain?" one of the Menaces asked.

"Of course I heard something! Someone was running ahead of us…" The captain of the group replied irritated at the question. He was looking around to see if he could see anything, but it being dark and the torches behind him instead of ahead made it really difficult to make anything out.

Sighing, the captain then ordered the men to split up into three groups of two, with one group staying at the head of the path that lead back down to camp.

Ukiah sat in his little thicket as he listened to the other two groups loudly venture into the forest. After making sure that both groups were gone, Ukiah turned his attention to the two that were left behind. Smiling slightly to himself, he raised his crossbow to take aim. Not realizing it, Ukiah had accidently stuck the end of the crossbow out of the thicket, allowing the two guards to see an arrowhead pointed straight at them.

Shouting in alarm, the two quickly dove in separate directions. Ukiah, angry with himself for giving his position away, tracked the guard that dove to the right. Aiming at the Menace who was just picking himself up from off the ground, Ukiah sent an arrow into his neck. Seeing the Menace instantly die, Ukiah looked to try to find the second Menace. Scanning where Ukiah saw him dive off, Ukiah moved a little bit to increase his view. Then a noise coming from his left side startled him. It was the Menace only feet away and charging!

Without thinking twice, Ukiah rolled forward just in time to dodge a swing from the Menace's sword. Recovering from his roll, Ukiah only had enough time to lunge forward and tackle the charging Menace. Bringing him to the ground, Ukiah quickly brought his fist into the Menace's face; a small cracking sound told Ukiah it was a solid hit. The Menace quickly rolled Ukiah around brought his fist into Ukiah's ribs. Roaring in pain, Ukiah kneed his attacker in the stomach, stunning the Menace enough for Ukiah to roll over once again. Bringing another fist into the Menaces face, Ukiah jumped off of him and drew his dagger.

No words were exchanged when the two stared at each other, but the silent anger that each other had spoke volumes to each other. Blood was dripping out of the Menace's nose, and Ukiah tenderly rubbed his ribs. He was sure that one was at least broken. The Menace slowly stood up and walked over to pick up his sword that was lying on the ground where he had originally fallen. After brushing the dirt off his blade, The Menace went into a fighting stance; to which Ukiah did the same. After a second of just staring at each other, they simultaneously ran at each other with weapons raised. Ukiah did a quick stutter step and strafed left, throwing off the timing of the Menaces swing. Exposing the Menace, Ukiah went straight at him, dagger ready to claim his life. The Menace quickly grabbed Ukiah's forearm that had the dagger and twisted it. In one smooth motion the Menace lifted Ukiah up and threw him into a pile of rocks. Ukiah rolled through the air, still clutching his dagger in the arm that was now throbbing in pain. After landing on the rocks, pain was shooting through Ukiah's entire body; starting from the ribs that took a solid hit earlier. Ukiah quickly fought the pain that seared through his body. Looking up at the Menace, expecting him to charge the fallen hunter was shocked. Instead of being charged, Ukiah saw that the Menace was waiting; waiting for Ukiah to attack him.

"Uhh…" Ukiah groaned in pain as he slowly got up "These guys are a lot different that the guards at Thariin that's for sure…" Suddenly, Ukiah could hear voices coming from the forest. "Oh no… He's dragging out the fight until his friends get here!" He thought franticly to himself. Remembering the training that he did with the twins and how they tried to wait for each other to come back to help, the guard was doing the same thing! Running out of time, Ukiah charged the Menace who was more than ready to receive him. However, right before the Menace was about to counter the expected attack, Ukiah raised his dagger and threw it. A look of horror and pain appeared on the Menaces face when the dagger entered into chest. Without missing a beat, Ukiah drew an arrow from his quiver and rammed it into the neck of the Menace, who fell quickly to the side. After realizing the fight was over, Ukiah quickly pulled his dagger out of the Menace. Rubbing it clean very quickly off of the body, Ukiah painfully ran into the trees to try and hide; but to no avail.

"There he is!" a Menace roared behind him "Don't let him get away!"

Cursing at himself again, Ukiah booked it into the trees; hoping to lose his pursuers.

Crack! Murky's staff smashed against Hiccups shield again. The fight between the two was turning more into a stalemate. Murky couldn't get around Hiccup's shield, while Hiccup couldn't reach Murky with his dagger without exposing himself. After a few more attempts from both of them, they each took a step back from each other.

"Why? Why did you betray us?" Hiccup yelled as loud as he could with interrupting his deep breaths that he was taking.

"Me betray you? Ha!" Murky scoffed resting against his staff "Your father was the one who betrayed us! No one denies Strogg and lives! Ukiah is the only exception to that!"

Hiccup was taken aback by the comment. Then, eyes narrowing, he replied: "He's trying to make the wrongs right. He made a mistake that was haunting him for years, and now he has a chance to fix it!"

"And what will happen in the process huh? Have us die for his past!" Murky roared back "I'm not going to be part of that…Fortunately I knew one of his champions, Ugo, and struck a deal with him. Strogg can't be stopped Hiccup, so all I could do is join him in order to survive! I'll be haunted when I watch you, your father, Ukiah, and everyone who stands to fight Strogg die for nothing."

Hiccup couldn't say anything. All he could do was glare at Murky with anger building inside of him.

Murky then turned to Astrid and said "I digress; here we are, fighting each other; I can't hit you, and you can't hit me…but I can get Astrid." With that Murky lifted his staff over Astrid who was behind him, ready to bring it down on her head again. "You'll light the fire, or I kill Astrid. Your choice."

Hiccup just stared at Murky with disbelief. This went from a bad turn to a worse turn and didn't know what to do! Standing there for a minute, Hiccup desperately thought of something that he could do.

"Make a choice Hiccup; I'm not going to let you think any longer!" Murky yelled, shaking his staff to remind Hiccup of the threat.

His facial expression falling, Hiccup dropped his dagger. Defeated, he began to let go of his shield. As he was doing so, a thought came into his head. Holding his shield loosely, Hiccup looked up at Murky who was smiling now. Then in a split second, Hiccup gripped his shield and twirled around, releasing the shield as he faced Murky again. Murky's smug expression quickly changed to pain as the shield collided into his stomach. Coupling over, Murky had no time to react because Hiccup already tackled him. Both of them rolling around on the ground, they ended up stopped near the cliffs edge with Murky on top of Hiccup. Making sure Hiccup was pinned, Murky pulled out a dagger tucked away in his belt and raised it over Hiccup.

"You should have just built the fire…" Murky said breathlessly. Raising the dagger higher Murky closed his eyes for a second. Hiccup quickly pulled his legs in and then kicked Murky in the gut, lifting him up and off the cliff. Hiccup could hear Murky scream as he fell down, closing his eyes when he heard it stop suddenly. Not even bothering to look off the edge, Hiccup ran to where Astrid continued to lay, oblivious to what had happened around her. Kneeling beside her, He listened to her heart and stroked her hair out of her face.

"Still breathing…" Hiccup said with a sigh of relief. Resting for only a few seconds on his knees, he stood up and picked up Astrid. Walking down the trail they came up on, Hiccup breathed heavily as he cradled Astrid. Realizing that it was going to take him all night to walk back to Berk, Hiccup refused to rest when his legs were about to give out. Gritting his teeth to help him fight the pain from the fight and the exhaustion from the activities, Hiccup slowly made his way home.


	17. Chapter 17

**Here you go! Chapter 17 of The Second Night Fury. To the guest who wrote 'Ukiah Haiku' thanks for bringing that to my attention! I just made up the name and didn't even think of spelling it backwards. Funny! Also, check out a fan video I made of HTTYD. Go to Youtube and search 'Blow Me Away - HTTYD Tribute'. As usual,**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 17

"Man I would have won if Ukiah didn't play so low!" Snotlout shouted in the great hall, throwing a plate at the wall.

The group decided to meet at the great hall after the trek back to Berk was over. The twins and Snotlout arrived a half hour from each other. All three of them were angry at Ukiah for showing them up again.

"He would have beaten you anyways if you were in a fair fight!" Fishlegs replied while studying the Book of Dragons, not looking up.

Snotlout quickly turned around to face Fishlegs "Not this time! I knew what he was going to do!"

"Really?" Fishlegs replied with a sarcastic tone looking up from the book "What was he going to do? Please tell me!"

"Oh, well he was going to side step…and also…use his crossbow!" Snotlout stammered "That doesn't matter; it's all in my head anyways!"

Fishlegs rolled his eyes as he returned his attention to the book. Ruffnut then whined "I just wanted a chance to fight in general! I didn't even get to see him really!"

"Maybe if you weren't so loud then you would've fought him!" Tuffnut retorted with a snort like laugh.

Growling at her brother, Ruffnut stared him down. As Tuffnut refocused on the chicken leg in front of him, Snotlout let out a long wail to try and get everyone's attention. "Can we please focus on me for a second? Astrid is still out there and who's going to help her? Hiccup!?"

"Actually they were the only ones who beat Ukiah…so yeah! I'd she's protected pretty well; if she needs it." Fishlegs inserted, but quickly looked back at the book after receiving an angry look from Snotlout.

Just before Snotlout continued his rant the Great Hall doors slammed open. Everyone turned quickly to see what had caused the doors to open, to which everyone gasped. It was Hiccup, struggling to walk while carrying Astrid in his arms.

"Astrid!" Snotlout cried running towards the two, ignoring Hiccup who was fighting to not collapse.

"Careful! She's unconscious. Let her down gently." Hiccup whispered as loud as he could. Resting somewhat for a second, Hiccup then ordered: "Someone run and grab my dad! Quick, it's important!"

"More important than Astrid!?" Snotlout shouted, gently helping Hiccup lay her on the ground after a blanket was stretched under her.

"Just do it!" screamed Hiccup out of exhaustion and frustration "Also get Gothi for Astrid!"

That caught everyone off-guard. Hiccup was rarely short tempered. The twins both bolted to go get Stoick and Gothi while Fishlegs rolled up a burlap sack, and put it under Astrid's head. Making sure that Astrid looked comfortable, Fishlegs timidly asked: "Wa-was it Ukiah?"

Hiccup still staring at Astrid, shook his head "No, it wasn't Ukiah; I'll explain everything when my dad gets here."

"Whoever did this, I swear I'll kill them!" Snotlout angrily replied, eyes narrowing.

"You won't have to worry about that…" Hiccup replied with no emotion in his voice. He was still shaken that he had to kill Murky, or at least be the cause of his death. Kneeling down, he grabbed and gently squeezed Astrid's hand; Hiccup then closed his eyes and shook his head. This was a nightmare…The war, Astrid, Murky, Ukiah, Strogg; the whole thing was a nightmare…

It seemed to be forever until Stoick showed up at the great hall. With the doors swinging open with more force than Hiccup's entry, the three looking after Astrid looked up to see Stoick running towards them. Gothi was walking towards them as well.

"Hiccup! What happened!?" Stoick ordered in shock when he saw Astrid.

"Dad…it was Murky! Murky was going to signal the fl-" Hiccup stammered out of anxiousness.

"Stop. Slow down. Breath." Stoick said, grabbing Hiccup's shoulder and shaking him gently.

Collecting himself, Hiccup closed his eyes and began to focus a little bit on his breathing. "Ok…where do I begin?" He thought to himself. After a few seconds, Hiccup looked up at his dad. "Ok...we were with Ukiah, beginning to come back to the village, but while we were travelling, we saw Murky in the forest as well. So we followed him. We found out that he was conspiring with Strogg…"

"Hold on son…you saw Strogg?" Stoick asked in alarm "You saw him talk to Murky?"

"Well…no, we saw him talk to the leader of a group called the Dragon Menace's…but the leader said that he was sent from Strogg." Hiccup replied "He told Murky to go to the top of the mountain and signal the fleet to invade, while Strogg and the Dragon Menaces come from behind."

Stoick's facial expression fell. This was bad news indeed. If Strogg was behind them, all he would have to do is walk into Berk.

Hiccup continued "So Astrid and I went and followed Murky to stop him. We caught him and then…well…he got Astrid." Hiccup looked down at Astrid. Now in the light he could see a pretty good sized bump on her forehead with blood dripping down the side of her head, which Gothi was already tending.

"Son…what happened to Murky? Did he signal the fleet?" Stoick's voice was filled with worry.

"No…I stopped him. I pushed him off the cliff and…" Hiccup's voice trailed off.

Everyone gasped when they heard this. They didn't exactly know what to think. Stoick was the only one who handled the news better. "I understand son, you did what you had to…where was Ukiah when this happened?"

Hiccup's head snapped up. "Shoot! He's fighting the Menaces!"

Everyone thought Stoick was going to tear down the Great Hall with the anger that vented through him. Punching a pillar and causing the side of it to shatter into hundreds of tiny peices, he turned to the group of dragon riders. "GO GET HIM! He cannot be captured or killed! Do not do anything else, just get him back here!"

Travelling like the speed of an arrow being shot, the group ran to grab their dragons. Hiccup was the only one that didn't immediately leave. Staring at Gothi who was still cleaning the blood from Astrid's head, Hiccup slowly turned to face the door to leave.

"Son, just get Ukiah back. Don't fight Strogg or anyone else. Do you understand?" Stoick ordered, staring at Hiccup.

"Yeah I got it…I won't do anything stupid." Hiccup replied. Hugging his dad, he took off running after the group who just left.

Stoick watched his son disappear behind the door, and then turned to a Viking standing next to him. "Sven, I need you and a few more men to prepare the Great Hall and turn it into a hospital. I think we'll have a few more wounded men before the days through…"

"Come on Kobaalt! Ukiah needs you!" Hiccup yelled running towards the sleeping dragons just outside of his house.

Kobaalt jumped up at the sound of Ukiah. The tone in Hiccup's voice didn't help either. Jumping up and running to Hiccup, Kobaalt's eyes seemed to interrogate Hiccup.

"Come on and follow me and Toothless." Hiccup said, sliding past the anxious dragon. Hopping on the waking Toothless, Hiccup clicked his leg into the step on his saddle. Testing the tail and making sure it was good, Hiccup rubbed Toothless' head. "Ok buddy, I need you to go as fast as you can. We need to find Ukiah."

Waking instantly at the sudden urge from Hiccup; Toothless launched into the air with Hiccup clinging on. Kobaalt was quickly behind them, roaring to encourage them to go faster. Hiccup looked around and found that he was quickly followed by the group.

"So what's the plan?" Fishlegs yelled, keeping his balance on Meatlug.

"We get Ukiah…Nothing else!" Hiccup yelled turning to face the group closely behind him. "We get Kobaalt near him so that he can pick him up and then we fly back."

"Why not fight them?" Snotlout shouted "We're on dragons and they don't have anything really!"

"No!" Hiccup reaffirmed "We're only getting Ukiah. My dad made me promise him that. Plus, I'm sure that whoever the Dragon Menaces are, they've earned that name for a reason."

Flying increasingly faster to where they left Ukiah, the sun began to rise from east.

"I found hi-" The Menace's words were cut short as an arrow entered his chest. Ukiah was still running from the group that has been pursuing him since earlier that morning. Ribs still tender and arm throbbing; his speed was drastically decreased to what he could normally do. Loading another arrow in his crossbow, Ukiah began to jog away from where he was waiting for the group to come. To his surprise, one of the menaces was running towards him on his right side. Ukiah turned the opposite way and ran as fast as his body would let him.

Running through the trees and brush, being quiet was the last thing that Ukiah was trying to do. Already in view of one of the menaces' who was alerting the rest, Ukiah could only try and put distance between him and them. Using his arms to cover his face, Ukiah broke through a thicket of trees and low hanging branches into a small clearing. To his horror, it was also a cliff face that dropped into the sea. The sun was rising on the other side of the island, causing the sky to turn into a beautiful purple and pink back ground. Not having the time to soak in the sight, Ukiah turned around to try and run another way. Doing so he saw the three remaining menaces emerge slowly out of the forest. Dressed in a black armor, with green clothes underneath, this was really the first time Ukiah actually got to see what they looked like. Their helmet's horns were turned facing down, giving them a meaner look.

"Well boy, you have three options…" the leader of the group said, standing in a defensive position with the other two doing the same. "Your first option is to come with us; the second is let us kill you; the third, this being my favorite, is to jump off the cliff. Your choice."

Ukiah just stared at the group who were smirking at this point. Running the options in his head, Ukiah thought of an idea. "I…I'll come quietly…" Ukiah whispered, his left hand holding his side to try and stop the pain of his ribs. A little disappointed that he wasn't going to fight, the three started to move closer to Ukiah. Bowing his head to try and cover the pain, Ukiah slowly moved his right hand up his left arm until he gripped his dagger. The menace on the right was the closest, and was already reaching out to grab Ukiah. In a split second, ignoring all pain that shot through his body, Ukiah pulled out his dagger and ran it into the menaces shoulder. Trying to make a break past the wounded menace, Ukiah continued running through the pain.

Just as he was about to make it into the trees, a force grabbed him and threw him back near the cliff; causing him to let go of his dagger. Unable to bear the pain now, Ukiah roared out loud while trying to caress the pain to stop in his ribs by rubbing them with his hands. Before they could do anything to help, Ukiah felt himself lifted by his hunting vest. Staring into the eyes of the leader, full of anger and evil, Ukiah could only helplessly hang from his vest. Laughing, the leader taunted: "I was hoping you would do that, I really wanted to throw you off the cliff."

"Better to die by drowning or crushed by rocks than to die by murderers" Ukiah spat back. The pain was still searing through his body, but his blood was boiling with anger. Not being able do a thing except wait to be thrown off the edge; Ukiah felt pathetic for being in his current state. Closing his eyes, he felt himself being heaved forward and falling into nothing.

The menace's laughed as they watched Ukiah fall. Not being able to follow the falling body all the way down, the small group turned to head back to camp. Before walking into the forest, the leader knelt down and picked up Ukiah's dagger that was dropped. Cleaning the blood of the wounded menace off the blade, the leader quickly followed the other two. Just entering the trees, the group of menaces heard a small roar behind them. They quickly turned in time to see a Night Fury hovering above the cliff that was holding Ukiah by one of his arms and legs. Anger was written over the dragon's face as it charged a fire ball. Not even able to run, the menace's screamed as they were blown in three separate ways. Two other dragons, one a Zippleback and another being a Monstrous Nightmare, landed next to the two menaces that were blown to the side. The leader was thrown into a tree and was immobilized out of fear.

"Oh…you're so busted!" Ruffnut called out from on top of her dragon's head down to the frozen menace below her, not daring to move.

Ukiah was gently let down by Kobaalt. Landing as softly as was possible for the dragon to do, Ukiah landed on his hurt side. Groaning, Ukiah slowly picked himself up. He looked around to see a Gronckle and another Night Fury hovering above him. Smiling and letting himself relax, he focused on the leader who was sitting against the tree that he ran into.

Walking slowly up to him, Ukiah heard Hiccup say "Ukiah! We need to go now! My dad's going to kill you!"

"I'm more afraid of Astrid honestly" Ukiah smirked painfully, referring to Astrid's threat earlier that night; keeping his course to the leader of the Menaces.

"Astrid's…well…hurt Ukiah…She's being tended to as we speak!" Fishlegs called out.

Ukiah froze as he heard this. Turning slowly to Hiccup, he asked "Bad?"

"She's unconscious…" Hiccup replied softly but loud enough to be heard. "You've got to come now!"

Turning and ignoring Hiccup, Ukiah picked up his dagger from the ground. Walking to the Menace, Ukiah stared at his eyes. They weren't full of anger or evil anymore, but fear and anxiety. After a few seconds, Ukiah roared and drove his dagger forward. The Menace whimpered and flinched. Slowly opening his eyes, the Menace saw the dagger stuck in the tree right next to his face. Looking up at Ukiah with surprise on his face, he heard Ukiah whisper "I'm not a murderer like you or Strogg." Pulling the dagger out of the tree, Ukiah walked ever so tenderly to Kobaalt. A rib was broken for sure, maybe more than one. "We have to take them with us. I think your dad will like a few prisoners." Ukiah said to Hiccup. Almost as if it was planned, the twin's Zippleback picked up two Menaces in their mouths while Snotlout's Nightmare picked up the leader with his feet. Ukiah flew next to Hiccup as the group headed home. Hiccup wanted to ask Ukiah how bad he was hurt because of the way he was holding his side, but decided not to. It was a bad way to start anyone's day.

"How long has she been out?" Ukiah asked staring at Astrid who was now in a bed and her head bandaged up. Ukiah himself was sitting on a bench with his torso bound in medical wrappings as well. Fortunately, no ribs were broken, but were bruised really bad. Gothi applied an ointment to it and it was already feeling better; he could breathe normally again at least.

"Probably for eight hours now…" Hiccup replied, sitting next to Ukiah. He never left after checking Ukiah in the Great Hall that was now the new hospital, while the others went home to rest up and prepare themselves and their dragons for a potential fight. At least Hiccup was able to sleep for a few hours in a hospital bed.

The two sat in silence as they contemplated the past experiences that they both had. Ukiah learned all about Murky and how Hiccup stopped him, while Hiccup learned of Ukiah killing seven Menaces. He was also told that they knew how to fight, a lot different from the guards and the regular soldiers that Thariin had.

"When do you think your dad is coming?" Ukiah said, a slight grin forming on his face.

Hiccup turned with a look of entertainment. "I wouldn't really hope that he comes. He was pretty mad when I left to get you."

Upon arriving to Berk, Stoick ordered Ukiah to stay in the Great Hall until he came to talk to him. Leaving with the prisoners that were brought, Stoick went to interrogate them and to also order Gobber with a bunch of men to hold up a rear defense line, just in case Strogg decided to attack.

Laughing softly as to not cause the ribs to hurt, Ukiah replied "I just hope he simmers down before he comes, I don't know if my body could take his shouting."

"There have been days I've wondered that as well…and I was healthy!" Hiccup replied chuckling. For a moment, the two forgot of the crazy events and looked at their dragons. Toothless and Kobaalt were lying beside each other next to the fire. Kobaalt wouldn't leave Ukiah alone and even pummeled a Viking that tried to stop him. Being the only dragons allowed in the Great Hall, Toothless and Kobaalt stayed close to their friends and each other.

Smiling at the two, Ukiah said "You guys came at a pretty good time. I thought for sure I was a goner."

"We seem to do that Ukiah, first the arena, the streets in Thariin, when Ugo came for you, and even here in Berk. You can't leave without us helping you in some way!" Hiccup laughed, numbering the times Ukiah's been saved on his fingers.

"Hahahagghhhh…..Don't make me laugh! I can't do it very hard." Ukiah whimpered, trying to kill the laughter that was building in him.

Suddenly the doors swung open and the two turned to see Stoick walking quickly towards them. Ukiah has only been scared a few occasions in his life, two of them being when he first saw Kobaalt and the second when he was pinned by Kobaalt. Now it was watching Stoick walk towards him.

"Are you doing better Ukiah?" Stoick asked.

Hesitantly, not sure if it was a trick question, Ukiah replied "I'm doing better than I was before that's for sure."

"Ah yes…before…I want to talk to you about that real quick." Stoick said, eyes narrowing.

Ukiah gulped. Maybe it would have been better to have fallen off the cliff.

"You sent Astrid and Hiccup alone to stop Murky. They succeeded, but at a price." Stoick said, gesturing to Astrid.

Ukiah could only hang his head.

"You went alone to try and face Strogg and his men, to try and settle a score…" Stoick continued.

"Wait, what!?" Ukiah quickly responded, jerking his head up.

"Not thinking of those that have sacrificed for you, fought for you!" Stoick lead on, raising his voice.

"STOICK!" Ukiah yelled, stopping Stoick's lecture. A small amount of pain ran through Ukiah's body, but he ignored it "Don't think for one minute that I went on my own to settle a personal score! Don't even touch that! I went alone to try to end something that was caused by me! If I was able to get Strogg then the fight would have never even started. I did it to try and protect you! To protect Hiccup, Astrid, the entire village of Berk, and…" Ukiah paused for a second and looked at Kobaalt who was looking at him. "Kobaalt…I did it for Kobaalt."

Stoick relaxed as he saw tears begin to form in Ukiah's eyes. Turning to Stoick, he continued "I never do something for myself. I do things for those that care about me."

The Hall was quite. The few Vikings there stopped to listen. Stoick himself was taken aback by Ukiah's presentation.

"If I could, I'd duel Strogg to the death in order to let you all continue in peace. Even if I died." Ukiah whispered, standing up now, ignoring the lessening pain that was nagging his rib cage.

Thoughtfully, Stoick stroked his beard, and then said: "I'm sorry Ukiah, I did jump to a conclusion, but what you did was foolish and rash. I'm going to ask you to never do that again, you promise me?"

"I promise Stoick; I won't do it again." Ukiah said, sitting back down gently.

"Good." Stoick replied simply, and then turned to leave "I have to take care of a few more items of business; you two better get ready, I want you ready at a moment's notice we see any Thariin Ship or soldier."

Watching Stoick leave and the doors close behind him, Ukiah and Hiccup relaxed, sending a chain motion among everyone in the Great Hall. Even the Night Furies relaxed as they walked up to their riders. After ramming his head into Ukiah's chest, Kobaalt did a little purr and then laid his head on Ukiah's lap. Ukiah smiled and stared at Kobaalt's eyes. "You're the reason why I do what I do…You always get me in trouble…" he said teasingly.

Kobaalt's eyes narrowed and then he growled at Ukiah. Laughing, Ukiah leaned back against the wall his seat was against. His ribs already felt better, which was a miracle considering they're probably the most sensitive bone to injure. "Come on bud, let's go for a walk."

The idea of going outside thrilled Kobaalt, which he responded with a roar of approval.

"You and Toothless wanna come Hiccup?" Ukiah asked while standing up.

"No…I think I'll stay here with Astrid" Hiccup said, moving over to her side.

Ukiah wanted to protest, but decided against it. Only nodding, he slowly sat on Kobaalt and began to make way to the door. Just as Kobaalt started walking, the doors swung open again.

It was Stoick, but this time he ran to where Ukiah and Hiccup were. "They're here!" He yelled "Son, Ukiah! I need you two to get all your dragon riders. The fleet has been spotted!"

This caused a small panic among the Vikings that were in the Great Hall. Among the growing pandemonium, Ukiah instantly dismounted Kobaalt and ran to his equipment that was set near the bench that he was sitting on. Hiccup looked frantically at Astrid and then ran to Toothless who let out a loud roar. Hiccup then grabbed a shield off the wall and slung it around his back. Also making sure he had a dagger equipped, since he left his on the mountain where he fought Murky, he jumped onto Toothless. Ukiah strapped his quiver on and emptied the remaining blunt arrows; Ukiah then quickly grabbed a handful of arrows out of the saddle's quiver and placed them in his own. Checking to make sure his dagger was also secure, Ukiah threw on his vest and then grabbed his crossbow.

"I don't want you to attack unless I tell you too! I just want you all in the air and ready to go!" Stoick said firmly, mostly looking at Ukiah.

"I promised you. Don't worry; I'll follow Hiccup's lead." Ukiah said, reassuring Stoick.

Nodding, he stepped out of the way "Be careful"

"Don't worry dad, I have Toothless with me this time!" Hiccup said, trying to reassure himself.

Ukiah waited for Hiccup to leave first, to show that he meant that he would follow Hiccup. With a deep breath, Hiccup launched into air shooting out of the doors of the Great Hall with Ukiah hot behind him. Rising higher into the sky, Hiccup gasped at the sight that was growing on the sea. Hundreds of ships sailing towards Berk. Ukiah who was now next to him also had his breath taken away. Grimly facing Hiccup, Ukiah said "I think we're officially at war now."


	18. Chapter 18

**School may be out, but work still exists! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, been working 10-12 hour days! To the review that asked if my story would include Alvin and the Outcasts, please review the first few chapters; this story will not incorporate anything from Dragons: Riders of Berk. I made this story before the Series even came, and I don't want to change what I already have posted and am currently writing. Thanks though! And as usual,**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 18

Ukiah had never seen anything like this before. All the times he saw the Thariin fleet he thought it was big, but that was nothing compared to what he was seeing now!

"No wonder Stoick was a little panicked; no one has even imagined a fleet this big!" Ukiah whispered to himself.

Toothless and Kobaalt were also shocked at the mass of ships. Hovering above the village, the two dragons and riders just stared in awe at the amazing and horrifying sight. They were quickly surrounded by the other riders and their dragons.

"I guess the sight of the fleet was a good signal to meet up." Ukiah thought.

"So…when do we light them on fire!?" Tuffnut yelled, leaning forward excitedly.

"Not until my dad gives us word…even then, we need a plan. I don't want to just fly into them!" Hiccup replied, finally tearing his gaze away from the fleet. "We need to be able to attack and be safe at the same time, if it's possible at all."

"I say we just go straight at 'em and leave them in a wake of fire!" Snotlout yelled, pounding his chest.

"And end up like Astrid? Or dead?" Hiccup replied with a little anger in his tone "That's exactly what I'm saying that we NOT do."

"Too bad it isn't night…that would hide both Toothless and Kobaalt perfectly." Fishlegs said glumly.

Ukiah and Hiccup's heads both snapped at that statement. "Night Fury! Of course it's in the name!" Ukiah said, slapping his forehead.

"We'll definitely keep that in mind tonight Legs!" Hiccup said, remembering what it was like to have a Night Fury attack in the early morning to late night. "But right now we need a plan for the day!"

"Hiccup, I may have an idea…" Ukiah said thoughtfully staring at the right edge of the fleet. "We're like a pack of wolves…Wolves who hunt herds of deer work together to separate weakest from the protection of the herd. If we do the same thing that wolves do, we may be able to chip away at the fleet without really exposing ourselves to the main fleet! And as Fishlegs helped us realize, if we also harass them at night on the other side or even in the middle of the fleet, they'll have no way of predicting where we'll attack!"

Hiccup soaked this in. It was a good plan, a smart plan. If they could chip away even twenty ships in a day from just attacking the sides of the fleet, they may be able to whittle down most of the ships before the initial invasion. "That actually sounds like a good plan! What side are you thinking of?"

Ukiah simply pointed to the left side of the fleet. With average looking warships along the outside perimeter as well as in inside, it looked like they could do the most damage attacking there.

"Hiccup! Come down here!" Stoick's voice boomed below them. "All of you!"

Not even looking, Hiccup dove down to his dad, quickly followed by others. "Dad, what do you need us to do?"

"Strogg and his men have been spotted coming this way. I need you and Ukiah to help the rear defenses with Gobber."

"But da-" Hiccup began to say.

"No! If Strogg and his men break through the rear line, the battle is over!" Stoick said cutting off Hiccup "The rest of you will stay with the shore line, if any ship comes close, burn it!" This quickly got the attention of the twins.

Hiccup nodded, disappointment was written on his face. "Alright dad…We'll do what you need."

Stoick just nodded and then ran towards the catapult defenses.

Hiccup watched his dad leave and then turned to Fishlegs and said "Legs, you're in charge of strategy. If you see an opportunity to burn a ship, do it. Ruff, Tuff, and Snotlout; you do exactly what he says."

Before anyone could say anything, Hiccup was already in the air. Ukiah looked at the group and then quickly followed Hiccup.

Hiccup and Ukiah flew low to the ground as they passed the defensive line. Men were placing two catapults in position to fire on anything that might come out of the tree line.

"Oi! Good to see ya Hiccup!" Gobber called out as Hiccup and Ukiah landed behind the rough barriers set up by the defenders. "Good to see you're still in one piece Ukiah, but I guess if that's the worse that happens to ya then we're in good business!"

"Good to see you to Gobber!" Hiccup replied, finally smiling after being told to help the rear defense.

"So where was Strogg spotted?" Ukiah asked dismounting Kobaalt.

"Near the bowl where Hiccup found Toothless. He was headed right this way!" Gobber replied, pointing forward in the general direction with his hook for a hand.

"Can we just attack them before they get any closer? I mean Hiccup and I can do a lot of damage before they even break through the trees!" Ukiah said anxiously.

"No…When they break through the trees, they will be given ten feet. If they go farther than that, then we can attack. That will be their declaration of war." Gobber quickly replied.

"I think them attacking me was a pretty good indication that they want war, and the fleet out there also leans toward that motive." Ukiah said with agitation in his voice.

"Just do what he says Ukiah." Hiccup said "I've tried to argue with him, but he's the most stubborn Viking of them all…"

"Thank you Hiccup!" Gobber said with pride in his voice "I just want you two to be ready at the very moment they-"

"There they are!" A Viking shouted pointing to the tree line.

The three quickly looked over the barrier and saw a few Menaces stepping out of the tree line.

"Two…three…four…" Ukiah quietly said to himself to count the steps that were taken.

More and more Menaces appeared out of the trees, surrounding a bigger one that stood out of the entire crowd that was emerging in the middle of them.

"Strogg…" Ukiah breathed loudly for both Hiccup and Gobber to hear.

"My, my, my…" Gobber muttered "He is big for a Viking, Stoick didn't lie about that!"

Stopping only a few inches from where Ukiah had set at ten feet, the Menaces simultaneously took a step back; having Strogg being the only one in front of his group.

"Ah! Ukiah! I see you and your dragon! I think it'll be more enjoyable to watch both of you die in open spaces rather than an arena!" Strogg shouted with laughter in his voice.

"I see that you didn't drown on the trip here Strogg! I assumed as much when I couldn't find you last night!" Ukiah spat back.

"Enough!" Gobber yelled. Glaring at Ukiah, Gobber then continued "Strogg, if you or your men take one more step forward, you will be at war with Berk. I suggest you turn around and walk your little sorry behinds back to where you came from and sail away back to Thariin!"

Strogg just laughed and then replied "Well I am at a disadvantage! You know my name, but I'm afraid I don't know your name! Please tell me it so I can address you as you have done to me!"

"Gobber is all you need to know!" he replied shortly.

Finishing his laughter, Strogg immediately went into a serious tone. "Gobber, as you can see I have invaded Berk and came to claim that which has been stolen from me. I didn't want to involve your island or your people, but Stoick has left me no choice. Surrender Ukiah and his dragon and I will do the very thing that you have told me to do! That is my only condition."

"Well…I guess we're wasting time chatting!" Gobber replied smugly, making sure his hammer was securely attached to his prosthetic "I guess we'll have to receive you as the annoying visitors that won't leave."

Strogg simply chuckled and looked down at the ground. After his humor died, his head snapped up with anger in his eyes and yelled: "CHARGE!"

"FIRE!" Gobber roared in return.

As the Menaces charged, multiple of them ended with a giant rock smashing into or rolling over them.

Ukiah and Hiccup were already in the air, with Toothless and Kobaalt launching multiple fireballs into the charging crowd. Ukiah himself was firing his crossbow as fast as he could.

Toothless then dove and flew towards the charging Menace's, head-butting one at high speeds and grabbing another to lift him high in the air.

Ukiah watched the falling Menace and then proceeded to do the same as Hiccup and Toothless. However, Kobaalt had a different way to handle it. Flying low and towards the charging men, Kobaalt fired two fireballs, blowing all the Menaces away from the defense line which was already beginning to meet the first attackers.

Flying higher, Ukiah turned to see the damage that Kobaalt dealt. Two small craters were left in the ground with menaces scattered all around. Even though the two strafes by the night furies were a success, the remaining Menaces made their way to the barriers and were either hacking at or climbing them.

Ukiah was about to go for another dive when he saw two Menaces below him throw their bolas at him and Kobaalt. Twisting his body to guide Kobaalt out of the way with his stirrups, Ukiah also pulled back on the handles of his saddle. Throwing Kobaalt into a stalled loop, Ukiah watched the two bolas fly just to the left of them.

"Hiccup watch out! They're throwing bolas at us!" Ukiah yelled out loud, unsure of were Hiccup actually was. He was glad to hear a reply even though he didn't know exactly where it came from: "Got it!"

Finishing the stalled loop, Kobaalt dove and fire another fireball into the charging Menaces. Pulling up at the last minute, Kobaalt was skimming right above the ground, hitting Menaces with his wings. "Kobaalt! Stop at the barrier, they're being overrun!" Ukiah yelled.

Sure enough, Menaces were beginning to succeed at dismantling the barrier or climbing over it. Gobber himself was busy with a few Menaces trying to attack one of the catapults crew.

Stopping in front of the barrier, Kobaalt stopped long enough for Ukiah to jump off. Ukiah quickly fired an arrow into a Menace that was hacking at a barricade with his axe. Ukiah saw the Menace fall forward dead as the arrow entered his back. Turning around, Ukiah saw another Menace charging him, and was very close. Just about to roll to the right, Ukiah saw a black tail catch the Menace in the side and was flung away. Ukiah quickly saw Kobaalt was right next to him, fighting a few Menaces as well.

Not having time to enjoy the sight of a Night Fury destroying those that were supposedly dragon killers, Ukiah quickly did a back somersault as a hammer was swung down, barely missing him. Jumping quickly back on his feet, another Menace was charging Ukiah. Not having time to grab his dagger because he was holding the crossbow with his left hand, Ukiah side jumped the charging Menace, again barely missing the hammer and drew an arrow with his free hand. Instead of loading it, Ukiah leapt forward, roaring like a warrior, and drove the arrow into the heart of the Menace who turned around at the wrong time.

Ukiah yanked the arrow out making the Menace drop quickly to the ground, blood pouring out of the gash made by the removal of the arrow. Loading it in his crossbow, Ukiah took aim at Menace that was coming behind Gobber and sent the arrow into his neck.

On Kobaalt's end, he was on a frenzy. Compared to him fighting in the arena, Kobaalt was fighting with even more power and agility. Already having to roll and force off of him four Menaces, Kobaalt was biting, clawing, and smashing with his tail the Menaces that ran to him. Already some of them were avoiding Kobaalt because they saw what had happened to their comrades; which was bad for them, because even though there were many of them, the small force of Menaces stopped coming from the forest, telling both the Menaces and Berks that reinforcements were running low for them.

Ukiah was now right next to Gobber who just finished bringing his hammer across the face of a Menace. "Ukiah! Go help the right side of the barriers, they're beginning to fall!" Gobber ordered

Acknowledging with a nod, Ukiah took off running towards the other end of the barricade. Slinging his crossbow over his back, Ukiah drew his dagger. What was left of the right side of the barricade was now either in splinters or beginning to burn, with the bodies of fallen defenders strewn across the ground. The remaining Berks were all fighting side by side, making a human wall with they're shields. Ukiah ran on top of the barricade that was left intact and jumped off, landing on a charging Menace. Driving his dagger into the chest of the Menace he leapt on, Ukiah saw another Menace turning to charge him. Not having time to do anything else, Ukiah quickly rolled away from the Menace, leaving his dagger in the fallen Menace. Picking up anything that was on the ground, Ukiah ended up with the sword of the Menace he had just killed. Not even looking at the blade, Ukiah instinctively swung the sword at the direction that the charging Menace was at, just in time to re-direct a blow from an axe away from him. Ready to thrust the sword forward, a blue explosion appeared behind the Menace. For a moment, Ukiah thought it was Kobaalt, but to his surprise, the Menace that was in front of him was lifted off the ground and thrown into the air. It was Hiccup and Toothless!

As the two finished the quick fly by, another Menace came from alongside the ruins of the barricade and rushed Ukiah with his axe. Seeing the charging Menace, Ukiah sidestepped and slashed his newly acquired sword at the Menace. Easily blocking the blade with the handle of the axe, the Menace quickly brought the butt-end of the axe across Ukiah's face, sending him rolling through the air. Using the inertia gained from being hit, Ukiah continued rolling on the ground and sprung back onto his two feet. Gaining his stance back, Ukiah saw the Menace charging again, this time the axe was being swung horizontally to prevent Ukiah from side-stepping. Dropping himself on the ground, Ukiah heard the axe slice the air above his head. Instantly reacting, Ukiah slashed the Menaces ankle with the sword, causing him to fall. Once again pulling himself up, Ukiah leapt on top of the Menace and was about to bring the sword down when the Menace struck his fist right into Ukiah's face, stunning him for a few seconds. Throwing Ukiah off of him, the Menace grabbed his axe and was about to swing it across Ukiah's chest, who was stumbling with one hand holding his face. Ready to bring his axe across, the Menace heard something whistling behind him and then a sudden force struck his back; knocking him down and was never going to get back up.

Ukiah, who was slowly recovering from the blow he took, saw the Menace on the ground with an axe in his back. Looking up, he saw Astrid running towards him with Stormfly flying above her. Her head was still bandaged, but she had put her headband over it.

"You know…maybe you shouldn't fight anyone when I'm not around!" Astrid yelled when she met up with Ukiah.

"Heh…yeah well…you know" Ukiah stammered. He had nothing. That was the second time Astrid saved him by throwing her axe into or at something.

Without a warning Astrid punched Ukiah in the arm, causing it to go numb for a few seconds.

"Gah! What was that for!?" Ukiah said, cringing at the pain.

"That's for not being careful!" She said glaring at him "Stoick told me everything!"

"Oh great…now I'm in trouble with both of you…" Ukiah sighed, shaking his head.

"Hey! If you guys are done visiting, we can push these Menaces back! They're no longer coming out of the forest and are beginning to retreat!" Hiccup yelled as Toothless hovered behind them. Even Kobaalt, who just showed up, seemed to be a little bugged by Ukiah not paying attention to the fight. Even though the right side of the barricade was weakest, the Menaces stopped coming! In fact, what Hiccup said was right! They were retreating!

On cue, both Ukiah and Astrid jumped on their dragons and began to pursue the fleeing invaders, along with Hiccup and Toothless, and a barrage of catapult rocks.

"Oh, it's good to see you Astrid." Hiccup said a little sheepishly, flying close to her.

Astrid just stared at him and the said "It's good to see you too Hiccup…Thank you for, well everything…"

Hiccup just smiled and then returned his focus to the battle.

Strogg was busy trying to re-group his men to try and make another attack on the weakened barricades. Trying to grab and push men back into line, Strogg saw the three dragons flying straight at them. "Shields!" Strogg roared as he raised his shield above him and crouched down. The men who reacted a little too late ended with either a Nadder spike in them, or were blown apart by an explosion.

Recovering his senses, Strogg looked up to see the three dragons making a wide circle around them to do another strafing run. Grabbing a pair of Bolas from another Menace, Strogg began to focus on the dragon that was flying in the middle of the three. Swinging the bolas, Strogg muttered some numbers to himself as if to help him time his throw and then let them fly.

"HICCUP LOOK OUT!" Astrid screamed as she saw the bolas fly towards them. Too late. Toothless tried to maneuver his body around the bolas, but still had one wing hit.

"Arrgghh" Hiccup yelled with Toothless, who was also roaring as they fell into the crowd of Menaces.

"No!" Ukiah roared as he tried to dive to save his friend. A few pair of Bolas and thrown swords quickly deterred him from going any closer to Hiccup.

The two could only helplessly watch as Toothless was bound by ropes and Hiccup carried away by three Menaces. The crowd of Menace's quickly disappeared into the trees with only Strogg staring up at them.

"Well Ukiah…if you so dare try to come save your friend and his dragon or attack my fleet, you can be sure that you'll never see Hiccup again!" Strogg roared threateningly "Tell Stoick to meet me here tomorrow noon-day with whomever he wants; I want to have a chat with him."

With that, Strogg quickly turned and jogged after his now smaller group of Menaces.

Astrid and Ukiah only stared at the tree line; both with blood, anger, and even fear pumping through their veins.

"Strogg…has my son?" Stoick whispered weakly.

After making sure Gobber and the rest of the defenders had the line secure, both Ukiah and Astrid had flown back to where Stoick was commanding the beach front with the other riders. It was a long flight for both of them, and even a longer walk to where he was.

"Yes…Strogg wants to meet you tomorrow at noon. I'd imagine to negotiate a surrender." Ukiah said with pain in his voice for having to tell Stoick the news.

"No doubt…" Stoick replied, turning his head away from the group to face the sea. "No doubt I have to surrender Berk or you Ukiah to get my son back."

Ukiah wanted to scream. The entire situation was because of him. Berk invaded, Vikings killed at battle, Astrid injured, Hiccup and Toothless captured, it was all because of him! Wanting to kill something, Ukiah could only stare at the sea, trying to vent his anger by clenching his fists and tensing his body. He should have been the one to be captured. To end this crazy fight. The only way that Strogg would leave now is if he could get Ukiah and Kobaalt; even then there is no guarantee.

"Do you think we could do some sort of rescue mission?" Astrid asked, obviously digging her mind for ideas.

"No…too risky, I'm hoping that he'll be willing to trade for the prisoners and wounded we have." Stoick replied, not even looking at Astrid.

"He won't do that…" Ukiah answered "He has some high leverage against us, and he frankly cares less about his men over his personal gain. He'll sacrifice all his Menaces and fleet to get what he wants."

Stoick didn't even show emotion, he just continued to stare at the sea.

"He only wants me…me and Kobaalt." Ukiah thought to himself "He'll only agree to give Hiccup and Toothless back if I end up dead and Kobaalt in his possession."

Suddenly Ukiah had an idea.

"Stoick!" He called out excitedly. This seemed to catch everyone's attention with the voice change. "Listen, Strogg will only want two things: Me dead and Kobaalt in his arena; or dead as well. But I may have a way to give him what he wants with me still a free man."

Stoick faced Ukiah with a quizzical look, as well as everyone else. "What do you mean? How can you still be 'free' but give in to Strogg?"

"Because I'm going to challenge him." Ukiah said flatly "I'll call him out in front of all his men and challenge him to a duel to the death! The prizes will be Hiccup and Toothless if I win, and Kobaalt if I lose!"

Stoick quickly saw a flaw in Ukiah's plan. "What about Strogg's 'prize' for Hiccup? Sure you have Kobaalt for Toothless, but he will want to have someone to have if he wins! On top of that, I don't want you to do that! That will be suicide to fight Strogg!"

"You don't have a choice!" Ukiah said with a lot more earnest. This was one argument he was going to win. "He won't give up Hiccup and Toothless unless it's me and Kobaalt. You know that! Honestly, he would be more willing to do that because there's the chance that he'll win and get two prizes!"

"And that is why I won't let you do it! If he wins, I lose both my son and someone else!" Stoick replied with anger in his voice "Besides, I'm not going to put anyone up as the bet for Hiccup!"

"What if someone volunteers?" Astrid jumped in.

Both Ukiah and Stoick stared at her, and at the same time sharply said "Not you!"

"But who else will Stoick want? He doesn't want Snotlout! No one wants him!" she said pointing at Snotlout who quickly looked at her with confusion. "I'm honestly the only one that he will want!"

Stoick remained silent while Ukiah shook his head. "No, you're not going to be the person for Hiccup. It will be som-" He was cut off by Stoick who said "Are you sure Astrid?"

This floored Ukiah. At one moment, Stoick was fighting him, and now he was contemplating having Astrid part of the bargain! "What! No! I won't have her b-" He was cut off again with "Oh yes you will! We're putting a Berk Viking up as a bet; I get to choose who it is if Strogg accepts the challenge!" Stoick thundered.

"Wait…your…letting me do it!?" Ukiah said gasping in surprise.

"I'm letting you challenge him, if he declines, that is the end of discussion." Stoick said glaring at Ukiah. "And if he accepts, I'll do the negotiations; all you're doing is extending the challenge!"

Ukiah didn't know what to think. He was getting what he wanted; a chance to save his two friends and to end this fight; as well as avenge his tribe. Taking a moment to soak in the moment, Ukiah looked at Astrid and then Stoick to make sure that they were serious and then said: "Let's do this then."


	19. Chapter 19

**Hope you like it! The plot thickens! I want to finish this story by the end of January, so I'll be working on this for a bit! Well, **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 19

It was high noon the day after Strogg's forces attacked behind Berk. The fleet never moved closer to the island the entire night; either because they were waiting for a signal to attack, or Strogg somehow messaged them to not attack.

Ukiah was staring at the sun just outside of the barricades, waiting with Stoick, Astrid, and Kobaalt; the only ones that were needed for Ukiah's challenge to Strogg. "Any minute now…" he said quietly. He double checked his gear to try and burn the time. The dagger was strapped in tightly for the third time and his arrows were secured in their quiver. The crossbow was ready to be drawn at a moment's notice as well. Nothing more to really do.

"Think he'll actually come?" Astrid asked. Her head was no longer bandaged, but a scar was showing just above her headband from the hit that she took.

"Oh he'll come, it was his request, and I'm sure he's itching to extort me for my son and Toothless." Stoick replied his voice set in stone.

"Are you sure about this Astrid?" Ukiah said turning to face her. She was holding her axe with one hand and letting it hang a little bit off to the side. Her face was solemn, focused almost.

"Of course I'm sure about it. I wouldn't have done it if I even had a thought of regret." She replied firmly; her eyes were staring into Ukiah's, daring him to ask the same question again.

"Well good…" Stoick cut in "Here they come now."

Kobaalt began to growl as Strogg and three Menaces walked out of the forest, with Hiccup in between the three. His hands were tied behind him, but it didn't look like he was mistreated…much.

"Where's Toothless!?" Astrid asked among them, gripping her axe tighter now. "What did they do with him!?"

"Astrid calm down! They probably left him. A dragon isn't the easiest to move around with just ropes!" Ukiah whispered back, not moving or turning away from Strogg. "plus, Strogg wouldn't want to destroy any chance of getting what he wants."

Astrid eased up a little bit, but moved her second hand to grip the axe as well.

"Stoick! I wish we could have a more suitable situation, but we both know that isn't possible!" Strogg called out, giving a slight wave of both his hands to show that he was unarmed.

"Enough with the small talk Strogg. What do you want for my son and the dragon?" Stoick replied with eyes narrowing.

Seeing that Stoick was just wanting to get down into business, Strogg's face became somber. "I only want that which was taken away from me! I want Ukiah and his pet!"

Ukiah gave both Astrid and Stoick a face that was more like 'I told you so…' and then stepped out in front of Stoick. "Strogg, I know that the entire reason why you want me is so that you can kill me and Kobaalt, so let's cut out the middle man! How about we just do it while you're here?" Ukiah rang out, with taunting in his voice.

Strogg looked at Ukiah and said "You may be right about that, but I have my own plans for you Ukiah!"

"Then why not do those plans here then, hmm? A challenge between a 'mighty' leader against a lonely hunter. On top of that, not only would an entire village be watching, but also the leader's army!"

Strogg finally caught on to what Ukiah was getting at. "I see, so you wish your execution to be in front of those you care about." Strogg laughed at the thought of seeing Stoick's and Hiccup's face after seeing Ukiah being brutally killed. "So if I have this straight, you want to challenge me to a duel is that right?"

Stoick then stepped in. This was the negotiations part that he was going to be in charge of. "That's right Strogg, if Ukiah wins we get Hiccup and Toothless back." That was all he was going to say, not wanting to just give Astrid and Kobaalt away. Unfortunately, Strogg made sure that there was as prize for him as well.

"Very well, I expect you have a fair prize for me in return then." Strogg said smiling while folding his arms. "I suspect the other Night Fury as the prize in return! And what of Hiccup? Who'll be the prize for him?"

Stoick didn't say anything for a little bit, long enough to make Ukiah turn to see if he was ok. After what felt like a half hour, which was honestly 10 to 20 seconds, Stoick finally spoke up: "Yes, Kobaalt will be for Toothless, and…Astrid will be for Hiccup."

Strogg looked like he was taken back for a second, and then proceeded to laugh. "Boy…" He said to Ukiah "If you thought Harze was challenge, you have another thing coming! Where do we meet?"

"Tomorrow! At our arena, noon." Stoick yelled doing his best to keep himself composed. "Your men will come unarmed and our men will be as well."

"Very well, I accept the challenge!" Then facing Ukiah again laughed: "Better bring more than a dagger and arrow! I'll walk right through them to get you!" With that, Strogg turned and walked through the forest, with the three Menaces guarding Hiccup.

Ukiah's blood was hot as he watched Hiccup being dragged away. Their eyes made contact for a second, but Hiccup quickly disappeared into trees. Turning around, Ukiah saw Stoick breathing heavily and Astrid almost in a cold sweat. For good reason to. "I'm going to win. I'll have to be cut in two in order to be killed." Ukiah breathed loudly, utilizing the adrenaline that was flowing through him to try and comfort the two.

"Aye, honestly he won't have a problem with that." Stoick said, staring at the forest.

Kobaalt then bumped his head into Ukiah, almost reassuring him that it will be all ok. Turing to face the dragon, Ukiah said out loud, to no one directly: "I need to be alone for a bit, just to…prepare myself."

No one said a word; they just nodded their heads acknowledging what Ukiah was doing. Without saying anything else, Ukiah jumped onto Kobaalt and took off flying towards the rock pillar where he sat to think two days ago.

Ukiah was sitting in the middle of the rock pillar, eyes closed and him focusing on anything. If he did have the gift of the Crev, now was the time to learn how to discover it. Trying to flash his mind back to when he was an infant. The possibility of actually remembering was basically no chance at all, but it was the only thing that Ukiah could think of as far as trying to access his 'gift'.

The smoke was clouding up everything and he couldn't get past it. Frustrated, he stood up while grabbing and throwing a rock off the edge of the pillar. Not able to see it fall into the mighty sea, Ukiah turned to face Kobaalt who was lying down and staring at him with a concerned look.

Sighing, Ukiah walked over to Kobaalt and began to rub his head. "I'm ok bud, just a little…anxious I guess."

Kobaalt raised an eyebrow as if that was all that was stressing Ukiah out.

"One more time ok? After that I'll go prepare myself physically!" Ukiah said smiling at Kobaalt to reassure him. With that, Ukiah turned and instead of sitting on the rock, he kneeled down. With both knees on the ground, his head bowed and eyes closed, Ukiah began instead to think of the recent past. When he first met Kobaalt; when he talked with Astrid and Hiccup at his fur stand; the events in the Thariin Arena and being welcomed into Berk. From the beginning to end, Ukiah thought of it all. It made him feel calmer, which was much needed. Remembering his first time flying Kobaalt brought a smile to his face as he re-imagined himself diving straight into the water. Even though it was only a month or so ago, it was the first time he ever knew people that truly cared and loved him. It was peaceful to have that thought.

As he continued to relish in these thoughts, the peaceful feeling grew. Slowly opening his eyes, Ukiah was shocked to see that he was staring at water! Panicked, Ukiah stood straight up and looked around. He was in a fog, standing in water up to his ankles, and Kobaalt wasn't anywhere to be seen. Spinning frantically around, Ukiah looked for anything that looked familiar. After a few frantic seconds, Ukiah gave up and began walking slowly forward.

"What happened?" he thought to himself "I was just thinking of flying Kobaalt and then I found myself…here." Unsure of what was going on, Ukiah felt a breeze blow in front of him, moving the fog away. A shape of an island began to form as the fog began to clear more and more. After a waiting to see what was ahead of him, Ukiah lost his breath as he recognized the land ahead of him. It was the island from his dream!

Walking with purpose now, Ukiah made way towards the main building where he first met the mysterious Viking; determined to get answers. His eagerness quickly dropped as he passed by the remains of the skeleton that was shown to him. Taking a few second to give some respect to dead Viking, Ukiah returned his attention to the center building. To his shock it was on fire this time! Running now, Ukiah searched frantically for the Viking. Nearing the building, Ukiah thought he could hear voices.

"Where are you!?" Ukiah yelled loudly over the flames "Do you need help getting out!"

"Quick! Norah, take the babe and get out!" a voice yelled out.

"Not without you Toeken, he's not going to be fatherless!" another one shrilled back.

Ukiah's blood froze, there were three people in there! "Hang on! I'm coming to help!" Ukiah turned to try and find anything to help put out the fire, and instead of finding something useful, he found that he was in the middle of a battlefield!

Vikings against Vikings axe against sword, buildings beginning to burn; it was a living nightmare! Seeing a Viking running towards him, Ukiah grabbed his dagger and sidestepped the charging Viking. Running his dagger into the chest of the Viking, Ukiah was shocked that it went right through him! Face pale as the Viking continued to run towards the burning building, Ukiah watched as the Viking raised his hammer above himself and then was thrown backwards with an arrow in his neck. Ukiah stood over the dead Viking not sure of what to think. It was as if he was just a witness to something…horrible, and couldn't do anything about it.

"Norah for the last time, leave before the fire consumes the entire house!" the first voice rang out.

"I can care less about me Toeken, but if our son doesn't have a father…then his life will mean little!"

"Your more stubborn than any other man on this island Norah; Jez!" the first voice called out "take our son and hide…we'll be back!"

"My chief! Are you sure?" a third voice asked; it was a girls voice.

"DO IT!" Toeken roared. Then, a lot softer, Ukiah heard words that he couldn't believe he heard. "May Odin protect you and your gift my son…we're always with you Ukiah…"

Ukiah barely had time to recover when he heard Norah's voice "May Thor bless the way you travel and live Ukiah"

What seemed to be a nightmare was an answer to his questions! He watched as he saw the two people, Toeken and Norah rush out of the flames. Ukiah again gasped as he saw a Viking in black armor wielding a unique looking crossbow. It was similar to his except the fact that a blade was sticking out of the front and acting as hand guard for his forearm. That must be Toeken. The second person, Norah, only held a sword in one arm and long spear in the other. Her hair was black and flowing and wore a chest plate of armor similar to Toeken. For a second, Ukiah beheld his parents.

Without realizing it, time stopped. Vikings were frozen and nothing moved. The ashes and embers flying in the air stopped. Ukiah just stared at his parents, who seemed to not be fazed by time being stopped.

"This is our son Norah…Ukiah." Toeken said, letting the crossbow he was holding hang by his side. "He's already grown since I last saw him."

"Dad…is that you?" Ukiah whispered faintly

"He looks just like you…proud…strong…determined." Norah said loosely holding both her weapons.

"Mom!" Ukiah stuttered, trying hold back tears. This wasn't a dream…it was the Crev's gift in action.

"Son…we don't have much time to do what we need to do, but know that we love you…we are going to help you. Trust us and trust yourself." Toeken said, beginning to walk towards Ukiah, as was Norah.

"Dad! Wha- Why- How-" So many questions were running through Ukiah's mind. "What do you mean dad? How do I trust you guys when I can't see you? What's going on around here!?"

Norah gently grabbed his arm. "Your questions will be answered! Trust what we give you; let it be your guide!"

With that, Norah lightly placed her hand on Ukiah's head, instantly giving him a calm and peaceful feeling. Closing his eyes, Ukiah heard his mom whisper "Let your knowledge guide you…" Thoughts ran through Ukiah's head of all the times he fought with two weapons, and then he received more thoughts about it! It seemed as if experience was being sown into his mind! After what seemed like seconds, Ukiah opened his eyes to see only his dad standing in front of him. The battle disappeared, but the grey sky and ashes were still around.

"Son…I'm so proud of you, always remember that. You have proven yourself over and over with every challenge and opportunity that arose. Now, receive my gift to you…" Toeken said raising his hand as well.

"Dad wait…" Ukiah said taking a step back "I only want one question to be answered. Was that the battle that destroyed Crev?"

The same grin that Ukiah saw the first time he saw his dad grew on his face and he only nodded to answer Ukiah's question, and then said "It was…it was what you were trying to remember, so your mother and I saw it fit to show you what happened when we were separated from you."

"Just one more question, and then do whatever you need to." Ukiah said, his voice beginning to choke. "Did…did Strogg kill you?"

The grin vanished from Toeken's face. Instantly, he replied "Remember son to rely on your skill and knowledge; not your emotion. Do you promise me this?"

"Yes I do." Ukiah responded, not looking forward to the answer.

"He did kill me, but it was my fault. You see, your mother was killed first by him. When I saw her strike her down, I went into a rage and…well…lost control. I forgot what I could do and because of letting my emotion run my determination, I fell to Strogg's blade."

Ukiah was surprisingly calm. This information was what he needed to defeat Strogg. Not only did he have Berk behind him now, he had his parents behind him, ready to be avenged.

"I've taken too much time, take my gift and save your friends." Toeken said, resting his hand on Ukiah's head. Instantly images of using a crossbow flew through his mind, as well as using the blade that stuck out of Toekens.

"I love you dad…" Ukiah whispered

"I know son…remember, let your knowledge guide you. You are the only one Strogg fears."

At that comment, Ukiah opened his eyes, only to find himself staring right at Stoick's face.

"There ya' are, finally awake! Kobaalt carried you back unconscious and I figure Strogg tried to get ya!"

Ukiah quickly sat up, rubbing his eyes. Was he dreaming all this time? Was it not real? Ignoring Stoick, Ukiah stood up and ran to Kobaalt. Grabbing the extra dagger out of the saddles sheath, Ukiah held it in his left hand while his right hand grabbed his dagger strapped to his arm. With curious looks around him, Ukiah turned to a pole with a flag on it. Taking a second look at the two daggers, Ukiah then dashed at the pole. With one smooth motion, Ukiah rolled around his target and slashed it with both daggers. Chunks of wood flew off, but Ukiah didn't stop there. Stabbing the pole repeatedly, Ukiah was sinking his daggers into the wood up to the handles of both blades. Spinning around, Ukiah did one more slash at the weakened spot and then brought his leg around and kicked the pole, causing it to fall. After a few seconds of heavy breathing, Ukiah knew that he didn't just dream a dream…he lived one.

Sheathing his one dagger, Ukiah looked up at the stunned crowd. He didn't even notice Astrid was there. "I. Will. Beat. Strogg!" Ukiah roared, almost challenging anyone to say otherwise.

"Well, like I said, I'm glad to have a Crev on our side!" Gobber said walking through the crowd.

"Aye, it seems he's three times the warriors I fought back at Crev." Stoick whispered, nodding in agreement.

Walking to Kobaalt who seemed to be smiling at him, Ukiah rubbed his head and then unstrapped his sheath from the saddle; strapping it on his other arm, Ukiah looked up at Gobber and said: "I need some help preparing my weapons, can you help me?"

"My Forge is yours until you're done!" Gobber said smiling.

It was high noon at the dragon arena. It was a crystal clear day, completely opposite from the mood that was in the air. All the villagers of Berk were on one side of the arena while the Menaces were on the other. No one was armed. One Thariin ship pulled in earlier in the morning, dropping off Ugo and Malke, the two champions. Apparently Strogg had some form of communication with them.

Strogg was in the entrance of the arena, being prepped by two Menaces. Ukiah was in a dragon cage, doors shut. He told Stoick that he wanted to be alone for an hour before the fight. Before he went down, Ukiah made a point to reassure Astrid that everything would be alright. It was obvious that she was more nervous than Ukiah was. After talking with her, Ukiah went and hugged Kobaalt. "I love you buddy…Everything will be alright, trust me."

"Well Stoick, are we ready to begin this thing?" Strogg yelled laughingly, walking into the arena with the gate shutting behind him. "I want to leave from here as soon as I can!" Raising his shield to boost the morale of his men, he roared with confidence that he would get his wish. Wielding only his massive axe and his armor plates on his shoulder, Strogg looked more like he was at a celebration and less than a duel.

"We're ready Strogg." Stoick replied, having no gumption to throw back an insult. He was too focused on Hiccup and Toothless who were between a group of Menaces. Toothless was held down by an unholy amount of ropes and Hiccup was bound hand and foot; sitting down on a small stool provided for him.

"Open the gate" Stoick ordered.

*Thunk* the heavy bolt began to lift from its resting place. Instead of the doors being pushed open suddenly by a dragon, only one was pushed open slowly. Walking out into the sun, Ukiah didn't do anything to raise a cheer from the Berks; instead he simply walked to face Strogg.

He was wearing a cloak around him, concealing his body. On his face was the Crev war paint; a black diagonal line that went high left, low right.

"Well, that's a new look for you Ukiah! You know other than the war paint; I guess you wanted to look good before you died!" Strogg laughed.

For the first time since entering the arena, Ukiah smiled and in one motion, threw the cloak off and showed exactly what he was carrying. This also brought a cheer from the Berk side, much stronger than the Menace side.

Two daggers were strapped to both of his arms, and a vicious looking crossbow was attached to his back. On it was crafted a blade that stuck out in front. He was also wearing black tinted chain-link armor over his torso.

"Well, that is different" Strogg said raising an eyebrow "Why the change?"

"I had a little revelation, I know why you want me dead…I'm the only one you fear…" Ukiah spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "Don't try to persuade me otherwise…I know the truth!"

Strogg had a somber look on his face, and then whispered back. "Then I'll kill you like I killed your people."

"No you won't, because I won't fall to you!" Ukiah replied quickly, drawing his crossbow which revealed new arrows that Ukiah prepared. Barbed and long, Ukiah designed them to rip a bigger hole when pulled backwards, dealing more damage than they did entering their target.

Time stood still as the two faced each other, and then simultaneously charged.


	20. Chapter 20

**Read description at end of story! As usual,**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 20

It was slow motion for Ukiah as he charged the giant, axe-wielding Strogg. Seeing Strogg begin to swing horizontally, Ukiah rolled at him instead of around. Having the axe miss completely, Ukiah finished his somersault while cutting Strogg's ankle with the blade of his crossbow. Turning around, he saw that it didn't even faze Strogg and was already coming for another swing. Falling backwards to barely miss the axe again, Ukiah launched his loaded arrow into the side of the turning Strogg. Rolling to his side to get up, Ukiah saw that the arrow stopped Strogg for a second. Holding the arrow with one hand, Strogg was hunched over. This brought a cheer from the Berk side, with Kobaalt roaring with eagerness as well.

Not wasting the precious time he had, Ukiah loaded another arrow into his crossbow.

"I will kill you even more slowly than I planned!" Strogg spat at Ukiah. Fire was burning in his eyes, showing the hatred and anger that was rising inside of him.

"Better speed it up then! I might outrun death if you're the one going to deliver it!" Ukiah shot back with a grin on his face.

Exploding, Strogg rushed Ukiah while bringing his axe at a diagonal path of left to right. Shocked at the speed that Strogg came at, Ukiah would have been dead if not for his natural quick reflexes. Missing his shoulder, the axe instead cut his leather gauntlet on his left arm. Using the slight inertia from the hit, Ukiah back somersaulted away from Strogg who was laughing. Quickly observing his arm, Ukiah saw the shredded gauntlet begin to drip blood from the straps. The crowd exploded from both sides; some angry, some cheering with approval.

"Well, you sped up…" Ukiah grimly said staring at Strogg who was still laughing and now circling Ukiah. Ticked off now, Ukiah quickly raised his crossbow and fired his arrow. Strogg moved just in time for the arrow to catch him in the forearm. Roaring in pain, Strogg instinctively grabbed the arrow by the shaft and pulled it out. As the arrow came out, so did pieces of his arm. Staring at the barbed arrow, Strogg looked down at the one that was in his side.

"Damn you!" He roared as he threw the arrow at Ukiah, with his torn arm shaking from the trauma that the arrow did to it. This brought another roar from the crowd, both sides trying to compete against each other.

Ukiah didn't say anything in return; he was beating Strogg, both in the fight and mentally. A few more minutes of this and Strogg would open himself up for a final blow.

Strogg fought through the pain the arrow in his side was giving him and charged Ukiah raising his axe as if he was going to bring it down on top of him. Ukiah quickly rolled around this time; sure that Strogg was expecting Ukiah to roll at him.

However, Strogg had a plan of his own; although he was expecting Ukiah to roll at him, Strogg's plan could adapt to Ukiah rolling around him. Stopping and jumping back suddenly, Strogg brought his axe down again at a high right to low left. Having to reach a little bit to get Ukiah while rolling around, Strogg laughed as he felt his axe make contact with Ukiah's side. The Berk side exploded in panic as they watched Ukiah fly from the blow he took, while the Menace side erupted with cheers. The chain armor that Ukiah was wearing stopped the blade from cutting him deeper, but never even slowed down the force that hit him. Being hit so suddenly during his roll caused Ukiah to drop his crossbow. After he finished rolling on the ground; Ukiah looked up in time to see Strogg put his axe through the crossbow. Ukiah stared with horror as Strogg continued to smash the pieces of his crossbow with his foot.

Picking himself up, Ukiah carefully observed his side. It had a long shallow cut, bleeding enough to just stain his vest. Then focusing on his arm, he moved the straps from his torn gauntlet, Ukiah saw the cut was pretty deep, letting the blood to fall in a small stream from one of the loose straps.

Looking up, Ukiah saw that Strogg was also assessing the damage that was done to him. Ignoring the arm which he knew was in bad shape, Strogg began working at the arrow in his side. Digging his fingers into the wound to open it a little larger, Strogg slowly pulled out the arrow without doing the damage it was supposed to do. Snapping the arrow into two, Strogg glanced at the bleeding ankle and ignored it.

Standing up, Ukiah wiped the sweat off his face; mixing the black war paint, sweat, and blood into one. Drawing both daggers out, Ukiah did a fancy trick by tossing one dagger up and catching it in a reverse grip and then spinning it in the air to catch it normally in his hand. This silenced the cheering from the Menaces and brought the Berk side alive again.

"Look at you so fancy!" Strogg said laughing painfully "I must admit, I thought you'd be down after I hit your side!"

"Heh, well you'll have to cut me in two to kill me!" saying it loud enough for Astrid and Stoick to hear it.

"If that's how you want to end, then I'll be happy to help you!" Strogg said, turning darker.

"Only a shallow promise…" Ukiah whispered back, getting into a stance to receive a charge.

Roaring, Strogg ran hard to Ukiah and began swinging his axe like a madman; across, down, up, diagonal, any direction that existed. Ukiah back peddled away from the moving frenzy and then side jumped to the right as Strogg swung his axe horizontally from his left to right. Seeing Strogg's left side completely open, Ukiah dug his dagger in his right hand into Strogg's arm. Roaring again in pain, Strogg brought the handle of his axe right into the nose of Ukiah, knocking him away. Still gripping his dagger, Ukiah back somersaulted away, trying to calm the pain in his nose. His face was still tender from the stunning hit he took from the Menace that Astrid killed two days ago and this wasn't helping at all. Blood began to ooze out, but nothing compared to the cut in his arm.

Both sides were roaring with anger and joy; it was a pandemonium. Once again the two backed off from each other to inspect the new injuries.

"Five…minute…break?" Ukiah breathed loudly as he tenderly touched his nose.

Strogg said nothing, but continued to look at the new wound in his arm. His side had blood trickling down from where the arrow had entered earlier as well. Finally facing Ukiah, muttered: "five minutes!"

The two instantly limped away. Their adrenaline began to slow down, allowing the pain to set in their bodies. Both Astrid and Stoick dropped into the arena where Ukiah was, while a group of Menaces ran to Strogg. Astrid instantly began to wrap his cut arm, while Stoick reset Ukiah's nose.

"That was quite a hit you took their…" Stoick said stepping back from Ukiah who was doing everything he could to not cry because of the pain and stress. "I've seen Strogg fight before, let me tell you that he's struggling with this one!"

"Thanks…" Ukiah moaned back, pain suddenly shot through his arm. "Gah! What th-"

"Quit whining," Astrid said, lightly nudging Ukiah's shoulder "I just tightened the wrapping."

Nodding, Ukiah looked at the bandaged arm. He still had movement in his hand which was good, and the blood flow stopped streaming. Leaning his back against the stone wall, Ukiah saw that Strogg was swarmed by other Menaces, trying to patch him up the best they could. A small roar sounded above him. Looking up, Ukiah saw Kobaalt squeezing his head between the bars of the arena; trying to get to Ukiah.

Without being asked, Stoick lifted Ukiah high enough for him to at least rub the Night Fury's head.

"I love you boy…If…if I don't make it…I love you! Thanks for being my friend!" Ukiah cried. With one great effort, Ukiah reached up and hugged Kobaalt's head. Their eyes made contact, and what Ukiah saw in Kobaalt's eye wasn't sadness or even anger. It was determination. The set-in-stone look of the dragon gave Ukiah an energy that he needed. He was going to beat Strogg.

Being set down, Ukiah stared at the Berk Vikings along the edge of the arena. They all were looking at him with the same look. Turning to face Stoick and Astrid, he straightened himself up walked to the middle of the arena, removing his chain armor. Strogg quickly followed suit, pushing the Menaces away from him and making way to the middle of the arena.

"What are you doing Ukiah!?" Stoick shouted as he saw Ukiah drop the chain armor on the ground.

"I move faster without it" Ukiah shouted back, then turning his attention to Strogg said: "You can still leave Strogg. The gate is right behind you." Ukiah said pointing with one of his daggers to the gate the Menaces were walking through with Stoick and Astrid walking slowly behind them.

"If I leave then I'm taking either you or Hiccup with me to Thariin!" Strogg yelled back, taking a few swings with his axe. He was still moving a little tenderly, but not as much before they called a break.

"Then I guess we finish this…" Ukiah said relaxing his shoulders "Whoever dies Strogg, this is good-bye…Strogg the murderer."

With that Strogg roared and charged Ukiah who was ready to receive the giant. The crowd erupted again as Strogg swung his axe in another intensified frenzy, this time keeping his strokes not as large. Ukiah rolled this way and that, dodging the massive strikes. Rolling right next to Strogg's leg, narrowly missing the axe head, Ukiah ended up kneeling behind Strogg's calf. Slashing both daggers across the muscle bound leg, Strogg dropped to one knee; Instantly, Strogg elbowed Ukiah in the chest, sending him rolling away. Recovering from the blow, Ukiah leapt forward driving both daggers into the back of Strogg. If Strogg was a normal sized Viking, Ukiah would have won with the arrow into the side, but Strogg was a massive warrior, pumped with adrenaline. Dropping his axe, Strogg reached behind him with both hands and grabbed Ukiah by the vest and pulled him over his head, slamming him onto the ground. The wind was knocked out of Ukiah as he smashed into stone floor. His grip on his daggers was so tight that he never let go during the flip over Strogg. Trying to get up, Strogg's hand kept him pinned to the ground by his chest.

Looking above at Strogg staring back at at him with anger while reaching for his axe, Ukiah couldn't do anything. Behind Strogg's shoulder Ukiah could see Astrid and Stoick watching with grim faces, only waiting for what was going to happen. Next to them was Kobaalt, throwing himself at the bars while four other Vikings held onto him. The hand lifted off his chest, causing Ukiah to look back at Strogg who held his axe with both hands. Raising his axe above his head, the crowd was screaming for Ukiah to get up, with the few cheers for Strogg. Again time slowed down for Ukiah, he could only watch the axe slowly rise up.

"Ukiah! Move!" a voice roared.

"How come I could hear that one over everyone else?" Ukiah thought. The axe was still raising, closer to its max height.

"MOVE!" The voice roared again, a lot closer and intense.

"Dad…"Ukiah whispered. Energy flowed through his system again, giving him an unnatural refreshed feeling.

The axe was at its pinnacle, and faster than when Kobaalt dove into the ocean with him on, Ukiah threw one dagger right into Strogg's chest, dead center in the cavity. Stunned, Strogg dropped the axe behind him. Instantly rolling up, Ukiah slashed the already cut ankle, causing Strogg to fall to one knee. Standing up now, Ukiah drew an arrow from his quiver and stabbed Strogg twice with it in the good leg, tearing flesh away both times. The crowd strangely went silent, not one was cheering or screaming; it was a profound silence.

Stumbling away from Strogg, Ukiah stared at him who was now on both his knees and one hand, the other holding his chest where the dagger had entered. Dropping the arrow and switching the dagger in his left hand to his right, Ukiah slowly walked up to Strogg not saying a word. Stopping right in front of him, Ukiah held the dagger above him, ready to bring it down into his neck.

Just as suddenly as Ukiah threw the dagger into Strogg's chest, Strogg pulled the dagger out of his chest and rammed it into Ukiah's. Gasping for breath, Ukiah stumbled back, dropping the dagger in his hand and holding his arms slightly out. The crowd exploded, Berks were screaming for Ukiah, while the Menaces were jumping for joy. Kobaalt had ten other Vikings on him now to keep him from going into the arena while Toothless on the other side fought the ropes even more. Even Hiccup was screaming and fighting his bonds. But what was more haunting was Strogg laughing painfully. Ukiah just stared up at nothing. His vision was getting blurry. Dropping to his knees with his arms still open, Ukiah finally looked down at the dagger in his chest up to the handle. It was Astrid's, the one given to him with the wolf head carved in the handle. His body was becoming numb, unable to feel any pain that he had.

"You lose Ukiah…" Strogg said smiling with blood dripping out of his mouth.

Slightly regaining his composure, Ukiah looked at the Strogg. "I told you Strogg…" Ukiah whispered "I'm not going to fall to you." With whatever energy he had left, Ukiah reached up and grabbed Strogg's hair, pulling it down. Strogg having no more fight in him fell completely to Ukiah's pull.

Pushing through his growing weakness, Ukiah pushed his legs to get himself up onto his feet screaming: "I WIN! I WIIIIIIIIIN!" Completely drained of life, Ukiah fell onto his back; watching the sides of the arena, both Berk and Menace, rush into the arena. Ukiah could make out Astrid running to him, but never did see Stoick. He swore he could hear steel against steel, sounding like a battle. Everything was getting more blurry as he felt the last of his energy leave his body; only able to smile slightly at Astrid as she kneeled over him. "I'm going home Astrid, don't stop me…Tell Kobaalt…I love him and I'll miss him…" he whispered, and then lost all sight of the light.

Ukiah was standing where he was expecting: in shallow water. The sky was clear, and the wind was only a slight breeze. In front of him was Crev, his native island. Walking slowly but with purpose, Ukiah made way to the village. As he neared the center of the village, Ukiah saw Toeken and Norah standing in front of the center building; Toeken's arm was around Norah as well. As he got closer to them, Ukiah saw that other Vikings were surrounding him.

"Son…We're so proud of you…" Toeken said with the same grin that Ukiah grew to love to see.

"You honor all of Crev with your courage and determination." Norah said lifting her hand to grab Toeken's that was around her.

"Dad…Mom…I did what I needed to…I beat Strogg, Berk will be able to finish the rest of the fight." Ukiah said walking closer to his parents, ignoring the rest of Vikings.

"Yes…in fact they already did." Toeken said smiling.

Ukiah didn't really hear what Toeken said, he just walked up to his parents and grabbed both of them; hugging them as if they were going to be taken away from him again. As he did so, Toeken and Norah did the same. For the first time in Ukiah's life, he and his family were together.

A few minutes passed as they embraced each other. Finally stepping back, Ukiah wiped the tears from his eyes. As he did so, Ukiah saw that his arm was still bandaged. He never noticed it before while he found himself back at Crev.

"Wait…" Ukiah said puzzled "Why do I still have this?"

Norah smiled through her tears and said "Because you're not done. You still have more to accomplish."

Ukiah turned to his dad who was chuckling through his tears. "In short son; you're not dead yet. We all kept you alive by giving you energy." He said gesturing to all the Vikings now around Ukiah. "Your time has not come yet."

"NO!" Ukiah shouted "I don't want to go back!"

"Son…I know that, but listen to me. You'll learn the answer soon enough." Toeken said calmly, still smiling "You'll learn the reason soon enough."

"Gaah!" Ukiah roared as he stomped away in a small circle.

Just as he was about to turn around, he ran right into Norah, who grabbed and pulled him in with both of her arms. "Son…I promise that it's an important reason. I don't want you to leave me anymore that you want to leave us, but this is important that you go back."

Ukiah just rested his head in his moms shoulder, not wanting to hear what she was saying.

"Promise me that you will be determined to the end! Will you do that for your parents?" Norah asked looking into Ukiah's eyes.

Ukiah looked at his mom, then his dad who walked up behind her. "I promise…but why? Why do I have to leave?" can you at least tell me what I need to do?"

"You have an important duty to fulfill." Norah replied smiling at her son

"Well, can you at least tell me what I need to do?" Ukiah asked impatiently

Toeken laughed and said: "That is your job to find out, but I will say that you need to go back home in order to do it!"

Ukiah shook his head and stared at the ground, and then smiled slightly with the same grin that his dad had. "You're not going to make it easier for me are you?"

Laughing, Toeken pulled Ukiah out of Norah's arms and hugged him tight.

"One more question dad…" Ukiah chuckled quietly "Was that you who told me to move back in the arena?"

Smiling broader now, Toeken said: "You needed a little encouragement, and there's no point in wasting a gift that we have."

"Thanks dad." Ukiah whispered, eyes tearing up again.

Stepping back from Ukiah, Toeken and Norah, along with the other Viking warriors, raised their hands up to their face and moved it in a diagonal line of high right to low left. Beginning to lose consciousness again, Ukiah did the same and whispered "I love you".

Toeken and Norah smiled and nodded as Ukiah slowly slipped away from them.

Ukiah slowly regained his senses. Barely even able to open his eyes, he tried to sit up; but pain in his chest quickly changed his mind.

"Dad! He's getting up!" A voice shouted from somewhere.

"Hiccup!?" Ukiah thought to himself. He was now fighting to open his eyes.

"Sure he wasn't just stirring like the last time you said he was getting up?" a gruffer voice asked.

"Stoick! Oh come on Ukiah, get yourself up!" Ukiah screamed in his head.

"Look, see he's moving around!" Hiccup said excitedly.

"Don't help him Hiccup; let him wake up in his own time." Stoick said with a little excitement in his voice.

Finally able to at least squint, Ukiah turned to see where Hiccup and Stoick were. Staring at a fire, Ukiah first thought he was in his cave back in Thariin. Back where it was warm, dry, and comfortable. Seeing two silhouettes walking towards him, Ukiah wanted to try and lift his hand to them, but could only lift his finger.

"See, he's trying to get up!" Hiccup exclaimed, pointing to Ukiah hand.

Finally pushing his eyes to flutter open, Ukiah found himself staring at Hiccup, Stoick, Toothless and Kobaalt; who was already sticking his face into Ukiah's. "Hey buddy…" Ukiah whispered weakly, the sight of his friends gave him a renewed energy, allowing him to function a little better.

"Easy Kobaalt, he's still in pretty bad shape…" Stoick said, pushing Kobaalt away with his hand. "Don't try to move to much Ukiah, your body is still in shock."

Eyes finally adjusting to the air and light, Ukiah found himself in the Haddock's house on the main floor. Even though he knew where he was, his body still asked the question: "Where am I?"

Both Stoick and Hiccup laughed, and then Hiccup was the first to respond. "Home Ukiah, your home."

Those words brought slight anxiety back to Ukiah. He was just with his parents, expecting to be with them forever, but he was asked to go back to honor his dad and mom for a reason he has to find out. Setting his head back down where he was laying, Ukiah reclosed his eyes to try to escape the memory of leaving his family and to quell the pain in his chest with each heavy breath that he took.

"Relax Ukiah, don't do anything." Stoick said again firmly. Hiccup pulled up a chair next to the bed that Ukiah was laying on, scooting it closer to him.

Reopening his eyes, Ukiah breathed one painful breath and then heaved himself up with his elbows, pushing his back against the back board of the bed. Collapsing in the position that he wanted to be in, Ukiah looked at his friends all sitting around him; Stoick with a concerned look on his face; Hiccup and Toothless smiling at him, and the Kobaalt; who was anxiously and excitedly scooting closer to him.

Slightly raising his hand, Ukiah let Kobaalt's head land softly into his palm. "How's my buddy…" Ukiah again whispered while cracking a small smile. After a few moments of soaking up the presence of his friends, Ukiah realized something that he should have asked as soon as he was able. "What happened…" he began to whisper but was cut off by pain shooting through his body "…uugghhhh… to Strogg? What about the fight?"

"Ukiah, take it easy!" Stoick said firmly, resting his hand on Ukiah's shoulder "The Menaces didn't like what happened, so we had to make them accept the terms of the duel."

"You mean they went against their…Gaaghhh… word?" Ukiah painfully replied.

"Yes, they were taking Hiccup and Toothless away, but Kobaalt made sure that didn't happen" Stoick continued, keeping his hand on Ukiah shoulder. "He stopped them…well dead in their tracks!"

"He's the reason why both Toothless and I are here, but Berk also got up in arms about the whole deal, to which a fight broke out…" Hiccup said softly "They were the real reason why they left."

Ukiah rested his head against the board behind him. This was good news indeed…His dad was right about Berk taking care of the problem. Ukiah then thought of something that he also needed to know. "Is…Strogg dead?" Ukiah whispered.

Stoick stood up straight while Hiccup looked down at the floor; those actions told Ukiah all he needed to know.

"He was taken by his two champions, we don't know if he died or not." Stoick answered "Your dragon along with the others did a number on the fleet as they fled, so chances are high that he is dead."

"Is…eerrrgghhh…his ship gone?" Ukiah asked again wincing in pain.

"I flew over the cove with Astrid, we didn't see it anywhere." Hiccup replied "Which reminds me, she wanted to see you." Hiccup stood up and ran to the door and opened it, revealing Astrid sitting on the porch with Stormfly resting next to her.

Ukiah completely forgot about Strogg as he saw Astrid run to him. She was beautiful, to which he was a little jealous of Hiccup.

"Thank you Ukiah!" Astrid said, leaning over him and kissing his forehead "You saved not only Hiccup, me, Toothless or even Stoick; you saved Berk!"

"After how many…Gaaahhh…times you saved me? Heh, it was coming sooner or later!" Ukiah whispered with a bigger smile on his face.

"Just get better, I'm going to have to pound you shoulder because you scared all of us!" Astrid said with a playful, yet evil looking smirk on her face.

"I'd sooner take another dagger into the chest again rather than…uugghhh…face that…" Ukiah replied painfully.

"Well that's not a choice…" Stoick jumped in "Your resting first! Everyone, leave Ukiah alone! Ukiah, go back to sleep! You're not getting out of bed for a week!"

"For the first time, sleep sounds good…" Ukiah mumbled as he slowly scooted himself back down the bed.

It all fell together…everyone he loved was finally at peace! And for once, Ukiah was glad that he was the cause of that in their lives.

Kobaalt rested his head on Ukiah's bed as Ukiah closed his eyes and stroked the dragons head…finally being at peace. Little did he, or anyone else, know that his fate was going to take him and Kobaalt for another ride of their lives!

**Thank you for the reviews! I hope that you enjoy this chapter! This was definitely the most fun to write. And yes, if you couldn't tell, this is the end. I really enjoyed writing this story, and hope you enjoyed reading it. I do plan on making a sequel to it, but not for a bit; I want to finish my other story before that. Thanks again! **

**~Dustnblood**

**PM me if you have any questions!**


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